Skip to main content

Full text of "Enquiry into plants, and minor works on odours and weather signs"

See other formats


eC YY ee ἘΠ ΓΕ ΓΕ ΓΕῚ ee! i 
| ] Tal 


LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY 


1? HE@eeriRASTUS 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS 
BOOKS 1-5 


Translated by 
ARTHUR HORT 





THEOPHRASTUS of Eresus in Lesbos, 
born about 370 Bc, is the author of the 
most important botanical works that have 
survived from classical antiquity. He was 
in turn the student, collaborator, and suc- 
cessor of Aristotle. Like his predecessor he 
was interested in all aspects of human 
knowledge and experience, especially 
natural science. His writings on plants 
form a counterpart to Aristotle’s zoologi- 
cal works. 


In the Enquiry into Plants Theophrastus 
classifies and describes varieties—covering 
trees, plants of particular regions, shrubs, 
herbaceous plants, and cereals; in the last 
of the nine books he focuses on plant 
juices and medicinal properties of herbs. 
The Loeb edition is in two volumes; the 
second contains two additional treatises: 
On Odors and Weather Signs. 


In De Causis Plantarum Theophrastus turns 
to plant physiology. Books One and Two 
are concerned with generation, sprouting, 
flowering and fruiting, and the effects of 
climate. In Books Three and Four Theo- 
phrastus studies cultivation and agricul- 
tural methods. In Books Five and Six he 
discusses plant breeding; diseases and 
other causes of death; and distinctive 
flavors and odors. 


Theophrastus’ celebrated Characters, of a 
quite different nature, is the earliest known 
character-writing and a striking reflection 
of contemporary life. 














The New York 
Public Library 


Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations 


The Branch Libraries MM 
MID-MANHATTAN LIBRARY 
Literature & Language Dept. LL 


455 Fifth Avenue 
New York, N.Y. 10016 


Books and non-print media may be 
returned to any branch of The New York 
Public Library. Music scores, orchestral 
sets and certain materials must be returned 
to branch from which borrowed. 


All materials must be returned by the last date 
stamped on the card. Fines are charged for 
overdue items. Form #0692 


Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2007 with funding from 
Microsoft Corporation 


https://archive.org/details/enquiryintoplant0Otheo 


ae 
; 


oe ἢ 
Ly ἡ ὟΝ 


ἤ A Ue | 








THE LOEB CLASSICAMEIDRARY 


FOUNDED BY JAMES LOEB 


EDITED BY 


GP. COOLD 


PREVIOUS EDITORS 
AEs AGE E. CAPPS 
W.H. Ὁ. ROUSE LL. A. BOSD 
E. H. WARMINGTON 


THEOPHRAST US 
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS 
I 


LCL 70 


ABR ae val fe fi 
M | ΤᾺ} is 
τ 


Js 


ἊΝ it 
| een a ee ae at, 
ἐπ ae ee inured et: ἢ ΩΣ 
CME 2 SCE SIE)  .- "Ἢ 
ἌΡΗΝ ὰ μα ΡΟΝ ἢ Μ᾽ πὸ Ἐν 
ΟΥΉΛΜΝΗΝ ΩΣ ἜΝ 
; an 
een ty. 





a Ἢ Ἵ | | 
aie 2, y ee a es Sid 
IG SOA ORE ORE een a 


Hi 
oe 


me | oh 





᾿ i vi vt 
Liga a. 


ΤᾺ ΡΠ TUS 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS 
BOOKS I-V 


WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY 
ARTHUR HORT 


HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS 
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 
LONDON, ENGLAND 





First published 1916 
Reprinted 1948, 1961, 1968, 1990, 1999 


LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY “is a registered trademark 
of the President and Fellows of Harvard College 


ISBN 0-674-99077-3 


Printed in Great Britain by St Edmundsbury Press Ltd, 
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on acid-free paper. 
Bound by Hunter & Foulis Ltd, Edinburgh, Scotland. 


CONTENTS 


PREFACE 
INTRODUCTION St lida! Sica 
BOOK I 
OF THE PARTS OF PLANTS AND THEIR COMPOSITION, 
OF CLASSIFICATION 


Introductory: How plants are to be classified ; difficulty 
of defining what are the essential ‘ parts’ of a plant, 
especially if plants are assumed to correspond to 
animals ee 


The essential parts of lisse, od the materiale of ahieh 
they are made 


Definitions of the various Ἔσο inte ΓΤ plants may 


be divided 


Exact classification oe ee aii τε τ pees 
of classification 


Differences as to appearance τοῦ τ a eee δὲ 


Characteristic differences in the parts of plants, reins 
general, special, or seen in qualities and properties 


Differences as to qualities and properties. . . . . 
Further ‘special’ differences 

Differences in root . : 

Of trees (principally) and phew ghenmcistienhe prea 


differences: aS tOckMObLBic:..%) sce check ieieaie δι νμν 
Astohabit .... “gids ian oh Le, (eg Chaar ies oe oat ae 
As to shedding of ees ΟΣ oid) ue MACE hal κε τ ΝΣ 
Differences in leaves .. . Ὁ μολυρνις μὲ 


Composition of the various ee Sea Wat. Ssnite δι are 
Differences inseeds ) 5./, 5) πο: 2 Si adieltathle Be 


xiii 


CONTENTS 


Differences in taste. . . 

Differences in flowers . 

Differences in fruits : 

General differences (affecting the Geeks τ εἰ 


BOOK II 
OF PROPAGATION, ESPECIALLY OF TREES 


Of the ways in which trees and plants originate. In- 
stances of degeneration from seed 
litfects of situation, climate, tendance 


Of spontaneous changes in the character of recs, and 
of certain marvels 


Of spontaneous and other changes in piether τς : 

Of methods of propagation, with notes on cultivation 

Of the propagation of whe date- aa of palms in 
general : a ae oy teal 

Further notes on the ΠΣ ὧς τ oe 

Of the cultivation of trees AE oe 

Of remedies for the shedding of the πεν caprification 


BOOK III 
OF WILD TREES 


Of the ways in which wild trees originate ΤῊΝ 

Of the differences between wild and cultivated trees 

Of mountain trees: of the differences found in wild trees 

Of the times of budding and fruiting of wild, as com- 
pared with cultivated, trees. -....... 

Of the seasons of budding . 

Of the comparative rate of Pail in Hid! maa of ae 
length of their roots : 

Of the effects of cutting down the w male: or - part of a a 

Of other things horde by trees besides their leaves 
flowers and fruit . st so ΩΝ ATS 

Of ‘male’ and ‘female’ in trees: the oak as an example 
of this and other differences ....... See 


vi 


PAGE 
85 
89 
97 
99 


105 
115 


119 
123 
127 


135 
145 
145 
151 


CONTENTS 


Of the differences in firs 

Of beech, yew, hop-hornbeam, el 

Of vane and ash She Roe ΚΠ ΚΥ ΝΣ A 

Of SS tg cherry, cornel, ποῖσε medlar, thorns, 
ΒΟ ... ἠδ ΑΕ ΧΗ ie 

Of bird-cherry, πος τῆτες 

Of elm, poplars, alder, [semyda, Pedder: a eunal 

Of filbert, terebinth, box, krafaigos .... ve 

Of certain other oaks, arbutus, andrachne, το ee ake 


Of cork-oak, kolutea, koloitia, and of certain other 
trees peculiar to particular localities . 


Of the differences in various shrubs—buckthorn, ne 
Christ’s thorn, bramble, sumach, ae smilax, 
[spindle -treely (ieee oan: slpioline Weiner feelers ta: 


BOOK IV 


OF TITE TREES AND PLANTS SPECIAL TO PARTICULAR 
DISTRICTS AND POSITIONS 


Of the importance of position and climate : 

Of the trees special to Egypt, and of the carob . 

Of tho trees and shrubs special to Libya 

Of the trees and herbs special to Asia 

Of the plants special to northern regions . 

Of the aquatic plants of the Mc chitennanena 

Of the aquatic plants of the ‘outer sea’ (ve. Asontie 
Persian Gulf, etc.) . 

Of the plants of rivers, m ony, ane tate) sgnewnik, 


ΤΠ AMU PRUE acco bens; 28 ta Lo MGd Verena oir Cog hla a) aN 
Of the plants ἀπ ν to ae ake of Ὀε οτος (Lake 


Copais), especially its recs, and of reeds in general 
Of rushes... 
Of the length or shortness a the life τ pleat al the 
causes ; : 
Of diseases and ἘΠ στο oe Ww Sees τ πες 
Of the effects on trees of removing bark, head, heart- 


wood, roots, etc. ; of various causes of death... 


PAGE. 


21) 
22] 
22] 
233 
243 
249 
253 
259 


265 


269 


CONTENTS 


BOOK V 
OF THE TIMBER OF VARIOUS TREES AND ITS USES 
PAGE 
Of the seasons of cutting ..... a wreable a<s+ewe Ei 
OF the wood of silver-fir‘and fr 6 . < see 2 δ: 49] 
OF the effects on timber of climate:.i@ 22/4 27922 427 
Of knots and! Scoilimg:7 in timberin 4) 19 h2 229 2 429 


Of differences in the texture of different αὐδάν δ eee ao 


Of differences in timber as to hardness and heaviness . 439 
Of differences in the keeping quality of timber ... . 441 
Which kinds of wood are easy and which hard to work. 

Of the’ core: and its effects’: #0" so.) “ond a 5 
Which woods can best support weight . . .. . . 451 
Of the woods best suited for tie! carpenter’s various 

ῬΌΓΡΟΒΟΒ Ss Soci days ws be Ce Oe ee uD val eae 
Of the woods used in ship-building ....... is ade 
Of the woods used in house-building ......... 459 
Of the uses of the wood of particular trees ...... 459 
Of the localities in which the best timber grows. . . 463 
Of the uses of various woods in making fire: charcoal, 

fuel, fire-sticks 31/37) Sak 0s td από νον «GS 00 


ν 


PREFACE 


Tus is, I believe, the first attempt at an English 
translation of the ‘Enquiry into Plants.’ That it 
should be found entirely satisfactory is not to be 
expected, since the translator is not, as he should be, 
a botanist; moreover, in the present state at least 
of the text, the Greek of Theophrastus is sometimes 
singularly elusive. I should never have undertaken 
such a responsibility without the encouragement of 
that veteran student of plant-lore the Rev. Canon 
Ellacombe, who first suggested that I should make 
the attempt and introduced me to the book. It is a 
great grief that he did not live to see the completion 
of the work which he set me. If I had thought 
it essential that a translator of Theophrastus should 
himself grapple with the difficulties of identifying 
the plants which he mentions, I must have declined 
a task which has otherwise proved quite onerous 
enough. However the kindness and the expert 
knowledge of Sir William Thiselton-Dyer came to 
my rescue; to him I not only owe gratitude for 
constant help throughout; the identifications in the 
Index of Plants are entirely his work, compared 
with which the compilation of the Index itself was 


PREFACE 


but mechanical labour. And he has greatly increased 
my debt and the reader's by reading the proofs of 
my translation and of the Index. This is perhaps 
the place to add a note on the translation of the 
plant-names in the text:—where possible, I have 
given an English equivalent, though I am conscious 
that such names as ‘Christ’s thorn,’ § Michaelmas 
daisy’ must read oddly in a translation of a work 
written 300 years before Christ; to print Linnean 
binary names would have been at least equally 
incongruous. Where an English name was _ not 
obvious, although the plant is British or known in 
British gardens, I have usually consulted Britten 
and Holland’s Dictionary of Plant-names. Where 
no English equivalent could be found, 1.6. chiefly 
where the plant is not either British or familiar in 
this country, I have either transliterated the Greek 
name (as arakhidna) or given a literal rendering of it 
in inverted commas (as ‘foxbrush’ for ἀλωπέκουρος) ; 
but the derivation of Greek plant-names being often 
obscure, I have not used this device unless the 
meaning seemed to be beyond question. In some 
cases it has been necessary to preserve the Greek 
name and to give the English name after it in 
brackets. This seemed desirable wherever the author 
has apparently used more than one name for the 
same plant, the explanation doubtless being that he 
was drawing on different local authorities; thus κέρασος 
and λακάρη both probably represent ‘ bird-cherry,’ 
the latter being the Macedonian name for the tree. 


x 


PREFACE 


Apart from this reason, in a few places (as 3.8.2; 
3.10.3.) it seemed necessary to give both the Greek 
and the English name in order to bring out some 
particular point. On the other hand one Greek 
name often covers several plants, e.g. λωτός ; in such 
cases I hope that a reference to the Index will make 
all clear. Inverted commas indicate that the render- 
ing is a literal translation of the Greek word; the 
identification of the plant will be found in the Index. 
Thus φελλόδρυς is rendered ‘ cork-oak,’ though ¢ holm- 
oak’ would be the correct rendering,—cork-oak (quer- 
cus Suber) being what Theophrastus calls φελλός. 
which is accordingly rendered cork-oak without 
commas. As to the spelling of proper names, con- 
sistency without pedantry seems unattainable. One 
cannot write names such as Arcadia or Alexander 
otherwise than as they are commonly written; but 
I cannot bring myself to Latinise a Greek name if it 
can be helped, wherefore I have simply transliterated 
the less familiar names; the line drawn must of 
course be arbitrary. 

The text printed is in the main that of Wimmer’s 
second edition (see Introd. p. xiv). The textual notes 
are not intended as a complete apparatus criticus ; 
to provide a satisfactory apparatus it would probably 
be necessary to collate the manuscripts afresh. I have 
had to be content with giving Wimmer’s statements 
as to MS. authority ; this I have done wherever any 
question of interpretation depended on the reading ; 
but I have not thought it necessary to record mere 


xi 


PREFACE 


variations of spelling. Where the textual notes go 
beyond bare citation of the readings of the MSS., Ald., 
Gaza, and Pliny, it is usually because I have there 
departed from Wimmer’s text. The references to 
Pliny will, I hope, be found fairly complete. I am 
indebted for most of them to Schneider, but I have 
verified these and all other references. 

I venture to hope that this translation, with its 
references and Index of Plants, may assist some 
competent scholar-botanist to produce an edition 
worthy of the author. 

Besides those already mentioned I have to thank 
also my friends Professor D’Arcy Thompson, C.B., 
Litt.D. of Dundee, Mr. A. W. Hill of Kew, Mr. E. A. 
Bowles for help of various kinds, and the Rev. F. W. 
Galpin for his learned exposition of a passage which 
otherwise would have been dark indeed to me—the 
description of the manufacture of the reed mouth- 
pieces of wood-wind instruments in Book IV. Sir John 
Sandys, Public Orator of Cambridge University, was 
good enough to give me valuable help in matters of 
bibliography. 


xii 


INTRODUCTION 


I.— BisiioGRaPHy AND ABBREVIATIONS USED 


A. Textual Authorities 


Wimmer divides the authorities on which the text 
of the περὶ φυτῶν ἱστορία is based into three classes :— 
First Class : 

U. Codex Urbinas: in the Vatican. Collated by 
Bekker and Amati; far the best extant 
MS., but evidently founded on a much 
corrupted copy. See note on 9. 8. 1. 

P,. Codex Parisiensis: at Paris. Contains con- 
siderable excerpts; evidently founded on a 
good MS.; considered by Wimmer second 
only in authority to U. 

(Of other collections of excerpts may 


be mentioned one at Munich, called after 
Pletho.) 


Second Class : 
M (M,, M,). Codices Medicei: at Florence. 
Agree so closely that they may be re- 
garded as a single MS.; considered by 


Wimmer much inferior to U, but of higher 
authority than Ald. 


Xi 


INTRODUCTION 


P. Codex Parisiensis: at Paris. Considered by 
Wimmer somewhat inferior to M and V, 
and more on a level with Ald. 

mP, Margin of the above. A note in the MS. 
states that the marginal notes are not scholia, 
but variae lectiones aut emendationes. 

V. Codex Vindobonensis: at Vienna. Contains 
the first five books and two chapters of the 
sixth; closely resembles M in style and 
readings. 

Third Class : 

Ald. Editio Aldina: the edztzo princeps, printed 
at Venice 1495-8. Believed by Wimmer 
to be founded on a single MS., and that 
an inferior one to those enumerated above, 
and also to that used by Gaza. Its readings 
seem often to show signs of a deliberate 
attempt to produce a smooth text: hence 
the value of this edition as witness to an 
independent MS. authority is much im- 
paired. 

(Bas. Editio Basiliensis: printed at Bale, 1541. 
A careful copy of Ald., in which a number 
of printer’s errors are corrected and a few 
new ones introduced (Wimmer). 

Cam. Editio Camotiana (or Aldina minor, altera) : 
printed at Venice, 1552. Also copied from 
Ald., but less carefully corrected than Bas. ; 
the editor Camotius, in a few passages, 


Xiv 


INTRODUCTION 


altered the text to accord with Gaza’s 
version.) 

G. The Latin version of Theodore Gaza,! the 
Greek refugee: first printed at Treviso 
(Tarvisium) in 1483. A wonderful work 
for the time at which it appeared. Its 
present value is due to the fact that the 
translation was made from a different MS. 
to any now known. Unfortunately how- 
ever this does not seem to have been a 
better text than that on which the Aldine 
edition was based. Moreover Gaza did not 
stick to his authority, but adopted freely 
Pliny’s versions of Theophrastus, emending 
where he could not follow Pliny. There 
are several editions of Gaza’s work: thus 

G. Par.G. Bas. indicate respectively editions pub- 
lished at Paris in 1529 and at Bale in 1534 
and 1550. Wimmer has no doubt that the 
Tarvisian is the earliest edition, and he 
gives its readings, whereas Schneider often 
took those of G.Bas. 


Vin. Vo.Cod.Cas. indicate readings which Schnei- 
der believed to have MS. authority, but 
which are really anonymous emendations 
from the margins of MSS. used by his pre- 
decessors, and all, in Wimmer’s opinion 

1 See Sandys, History of Classical Scholarship, ii. p. 62, etc. 
XV 


INTRODUCTION 


‘traceable to Gaza’s version. Schneider's 
so-called Codex Casauboni he knew, ac- 
cording to Wimmer, only from Hofmann’s 
edition. 


B. Editions 


H. Editio Heinsii, printed at Leyden, 1613: founded 


on Cam. and very carelessly printed, repeating 
the misprints of that edition and adding many 
others. In the preface Daniel Heins! pretends 
to have had access to a critical edition and to a 
Heidelberg MS.; this claim appears to be en- 
tirely fictitious. The book indeed contains what 
Wimmer calls a farrago emendationum; heremarks 
that ‘all the good things in it Heinsius owed 
to the wit of others, while all its faults and 
follies we owe to Heinsius.’ Schneider calls it 
edilio omnium pessima. 


Bod. Editio Bodaei (viz. of Joannes Bodaeus a 


XVi 


Stapel), printed at Amsterdam, 1644. The text 
of Heinsius is closely followed ; the margin con- 
tains a number of emendations taken from the 
margin of Bas. and from Scaliger, Robertus Con- 
stantinus, and Salmasius, with a few due to the 
editor himself. The commentary, according to 
Sir William Thiselton-Dyer, is ‘botanically 
monumental and fundamental.’ 


1 See Sandys, op. cit. p. 313 ete. 


INTRODUCTION 


St. Stackhouse, Oxford, 1813: a prettily printed 


Sch. 


edition with some illustrations: text founded on 
Ald. The editor seems to have been a fair 
botanist, but an indifferent scholar, though occa- 
sionally he hits on a certain emendation. The 
notes are short and generally of slight value. 
The book is however of interest, as being appa- 
rently the only work on the ‘ Enquiry’ hitherto 
published in England. 

J. G. Schneider (and Linck), Leipzig: vols. 
i-iv. published in 1818, vol. v. in 1821; contains 
also the περὶ αἰτιῶν and the fragments, and a re- 
print of Gaza’s version (corrected). The fifth, 
or supplementary, volume, written during the 
author’s last illness, takes account of the Codex 
Urbinas, which, unfortunately for Schneider, 
did not become known till his edition was 
finished. It is remarkable in how many places 
he anticipated by acute emendation the readings 
of U. The fifth volume also gives an account of 
criticisms of the earlier volumes by the eminent 
Greek Adamantios Koraés! and Kurt Sprengel. 
This is a monumental edition, despite the ver- 
bosity of the notes, somewhat careless references 
and reproduction of the MSS. readings, and an 
imperfect comprehension of the compressed 
style of Theophrastus, which leads to a good 
deal of wild emendation or rewriting of the 
text. For the first time we find an attempt at 


1 See Sandys, op. cit. iii. pp. 361 foll. 
XVii 


INTRODUCTION 


providing a critical text, founded not on the 
Aldine edition, but on comparison of the manu- 
scripts then known; the Medicean and Viennese 
had been collated a few years before by J. Th. 
Schneider. We find also full use made of the 
ancient authors, Athenaeus, Plutarch, Pliny, 
Dioscorides, Nicander, Galen, etc., who quoted or 
adapted passages of Theophrastus, and copious 
references, often illuminating, to those who 
illustrate him, as Varro, Columella, Palladius, 
Aelian, the Geoponica. 

Spr. Kurt Sprengel, Halle, 1822. This is not an 
edition of the text, but a copious commentary 
with German translation. Sprengel was a better 
botanist than scholar; Wimmer speaks dis- 
paragingly of his knowledge of Greek and of 
the translation. (See note prefixed to the 
Index of Plants.) 

W Fr. Wimmer: (1) An edition with introduction, 
analysis, critical notes, and Sprengel’s identi- 
fications of the plant-names ; Breslau, 1842. 

(2) A further revised text with new Latin 
translation, apparatus criticus, and full indices ; 
the Index Plantarum gives the identifications of 
Sprengel and Fraas; Didot Library, Paris, n.d. 

(3) A reprint of this text in Teubner’s series, 
1854, 


These three books are an indispensable supplement 
to Schneider's great work. The notes in the edition of 


XVili 


INTRODUCTION 


1842 are in the main critical, but the editor’s remarks 
on the interpretation of thorny passages are often 
extremely acute, and always worth attention. The 
mass of material collected by Schneider is put into 
an accessible form. Wimmer is far more conservative 
in textual criticism than Schneider, and has a better 
appreciation of Theophrastus’ elliptical and some- 
what peculiar idiom, though some of his emendations 
appear to rest on little basis. A collation of the 
Paris MSS. (P and P,) was made for Wimmer; for 
the readings of U and M he relied on Schneider, 
who, in his fifth volume, had compared U with 
Bodaeus’ edition. A fresh collation of the rather 
exiguous manuscript authorities is perhaps required 
before anything like a definitive text can be pro- 
vided. Wimmer’s Latin translation is not very 
helpful, since it slurs the difficulties: the Didot 
edition, in which it appears, is disfigured with 
numerous misprints. 

(Sandys’ History of Classical Scholarship (ii. p. 380) 
mentions translations into Latin and Italian by 
Bandini; of this work I know nothing.) 


C. Other Commentators 


Seal. J.C. Scaliger : Commentarii et animadverstones on 
the περὶ φυτῶν ἱστορία posthumously published 
by his son Sylvius at Leyden, 1584. (He also 
wrote a commentary on the περὶ αἰτιῶν, which 
was edited by Robertus Constantinus and pub- 


xix 


INTRODUCTION 


lished at Geneva in 1566.) The most accurate 
and brilliant scholar who has contributed to the 
elucidation of Theophrastus. 

R.Const. Robertus Constantinus (see above). Added 
notes of his own, many of them valuable, which 
are given with Scaliger’s in Bodaeus’ edition. 

Salm. Salmasius (Claude de Saumaise). Made many 
happy corrections of Theophrastus’ text in his 
Exzercitationes Plinianae. 

Palm. Jacobus Palmerius (Jacques de Paulmier). 
His Exercitaliones tn oplimos auctores Graecos 
(Leyden, 1668) contain a certain number of 
acute emendations ; Wimmer considers that he 
had a good understanding of Theophrastus’ 
style. 

Meurs. Johannes Meursius (Jan de Meurs). Author 
of some critical notes on Theophrastus pub- 
lished at Leyden in 1640; also of a book on 
Crete. 

Dalec. Jean Jacques D’Aléchamps: the botanist. 
Author of Historia plantarum universalis, Lyons, 
1587, and editor of Pliny’s Natwral History. 

Mold. J. J. P. Moldenhauer. Author of T'entamen 
in Historiam plantarum Theophrasti, Hamburg, 
1791. This book, which I have not been able 
to see and know only from Wimmer’s citations, 
contains, according to him, very valuable notes 
on the extremely difficult Introduction to the 
‘ Historia’ (Book I. chaps. i.-ii.). 


XxX 


INTRODUCTION 


II.—Tueorurastus Lirk anp Works 


Such information as we possess concerning the 
life of Theophrastus comes mainly from Diogenes 
Laertius’ Lives of the Philosophers, compiled at least 
four hundred years after Theophrastus’ death; it is 
given therefore here for what it may be worth; 
there is no intrinsic improbability in most of what 
Diogenes records. 

He was born in 370 B.c. at Eresos in Lesbos; at 
an early age he went to Athens and there became a 
pupil of Plato. It may be surmised that it was from 
him that he first learnt the importance of that 
principle of classification which runs through all his 
extant works, including even the brochure known as 
the ‘Characters’ (if it is rightly ascribed to him), 
and which is ordinarily considered as characteristic 
of the teaching of his second master Aristotle. But 
in Plato’s own later speculations classification had a 
very important place, since it was by grouping things 
in their ‘natural kinds’ that, according to his later 
metaphysic, men were to arrive at an adumbration 
of the ‘ideal forms’ of which these kinds are the 
phenomenal counterpart, and which constitute the 
world of reality. Whether Theophrastus gathered 
the principle of classification from Plato or from his 
fellow-pupil Aristotle, it appears in his hands to 
have been for the first time systematically applied 
to the vegetable world. Throughout his botanical 


xxi 


INTRODUCTION 


works the constant implied question is ‘ What is its 
difference ?’, ‘What is its essential nature ?’, viz. ‘What 
are the characteristic features in virtue of which a 
plant may be distinguished from other plants, and 
which make up its own ‘nature’ or essential 
character ? 

Theophrastus appears to have been only Aristotle’s 
junior by fifteen years. On Plato’s death he became 
Aristotle’s pupil, but, the difference in age not being 
very great, he and his second master appear to have 
been on practically equal terms. We are assured 
that Aristotle was deeply attached to his friend ; 
while as earnest of an equally deep attachment on 
the other side Theophrastus took Aristotle’s son 
under his particular care after his father’s death. 
Aristotle died at the age of sixty-three, leaving to 
his favourite pupil his books, including the auto- 
graphs of his own works, and his garden in the 
grounds of the Lyceum. ‘The first of these bequests, 
if the information is correct, is of great historical 
importance; it may well be that we owe to 
Theophrastus the publication of some at least of 
his master’s voluminous works. And as to the 
garden it is evident that it was here that the first 
systematic botanist made many of the observations 
which are recorded in his botanical works. Diogenes 
has preserved his will, and there is nothing in the 
terms of this interesting document to suggest that 
it is not authentic. Of special interest is the 
provision made for the maintenance of the garden; 


x y¥di 


INTRODUCTION 


it is bequeathed to certain specified friends and to 
those who will spend their time with them in learn- 
ing and philosophy; the testator is to be buried 
in it without extravagant expense, a custodian is 
appointed, and provision is made for the emancipa- 
tion of various gardeners, so soon as they have 
earned their freedom by long enough service. 
According to Diogenes Theophrastus died at the 
age of eighty-five. He is made indeed to say in the 
probably spurious Preface to the ‘ Characters’ that he 
is writing in his ninety-ninth year; while St. Jerome’s 
Chronicle asserts that he lived to the age of 107. 
Accepting Diogenes’ date, we may take it that he 
died about 285 s.c.; it is said that he complained 
that “we die just when we are beginning to live.” 
His life must indeed have been a remarkably full 
and interesting one, when we consider that he 
enjoyed the personal friendship of two such men as 
Plato and Aristotle, and that he had witnessed the 
whole of the careers of Philip and Alexander of 
Macedon. ‘To Alexander indeed he was directly 
indebted ; the great conqueror had not been for 
nothing the pupil of the encyclopaedic Aristotle. 
He took with him to the East scientifically trained 
observers, the results of whose observations were at 
Theophrastus’ disposal. Hence it is that his de- 
scriptions of plants are not limited to the flora of 
Greece and the Levant; to the reports of Alexander’s 
followers he owed his accounts of such plants as the 
cotton-plant, banyan, pepper, cinnamon, myrrh and 


xxiii 


INTRODUCTION 


frankincense. It has been a subject of some con- 
troversy whence he derived his accounts of plants 
whose habitat was nearer home. Kirchner, in an 
able tract, combats the contention of Sprengel that 
his observations even of the Greek flora were not 
made at first hand. Now at this period the Peri- 
patetic School must have been a very important 
educational institution; Diogenes says that under 
Theophrastus it numbered two thousand pupils. 
Moreover we may fairly assume that Alexander, from 
his connexion with Aristotle, was interested in it, 
while we are told that at a later time Demetrius 
Phalereus assisted it financially. May we not hazard 
a guess that a number of the students were ap- 
propriately employed in the collection of facts and 
observations? The assumption that a number of 
‘travelling students’ were so employed would at all 
events explain certain references in Theophrastus’ 
botanical works. He says constantly ‘The Maced- 
onians say, ‘The men of Mount Ida say’ and so 
forth. Now it seems hardly probable that he is 
quoting from written treatises by Macedonian or 
Idaean writers. It is at least a plausible suggestion 
that in such references he is referring to reports ot 
the districts in question contributed by students 
of the school. In that case ‘The Macedonians say ’ 
would mean ‘ This is what our representative was 
told in Macedonia.’ It is further noticeable that 
the tense used is sometimes past, e.g. ‘The men of 
Mount Ida said’; an obvious explanation of this is 
χχὶν 


INTRODUCTION 


supplied by the above conjecture. It is even possible 
that in one place (3. 12. 4.) the name of one of these 
students has been preserved. 

Theophrastus, like his master, was a very volu- 
minous writer; Diogenes gives a list of 227 treatises 
from his pen, covering most topics of human interest, 
as Religion, Politics, Ethics, Education, Rhetoric, 
Mathematics, Astronomy, Logic, Meteorology and 
other natural sciences. His oratorical works enjoyed 
a high reputation in antiquity. Diogenes attributes 
to him ten works on Rhetoric, of which one On Style 
was known to Cicero, who adopted from it the 
classification of styles into the ‘ grand,’ the “ plain,’ 
and the ‘ intermediate.’! Of one or two other lost 
works we have some knowledge. Thus the substance 
of an essay on Piety is preserved in Porphyry de 
Abstinentia.2, The principal works still extant are 
the nine books of the Enquiry into Plants, and the 
six books on the Causes of Plants ; these seem to be 
complete. We have also considerable fragments of 
treatises entitled :—of Sense-perception and objects 
of Sense, of Stones, of Fire, of Odours, of Winds, of 
Weather-Signs, of Weariness, of Dizziness, of Sweat, 
Metaphysics, besides a number of unassigned excerpts. 
The style of these works, as of the botanical books, 
suggests that, as in the case of Aristotle, what we 
possess consists of notes for lectures or notes taken 
of lectures. There is no literary charm; the sen- 

1 Sandys, i. p. 99. 
2 Bernays, Theophrastus, 1866. 
XXV 


INTRODUCTION 


tences are mostly compressed and highly elliptical, 
to the point sometimes of obscurity. It follows that 
translation, as with Aristotle, must be to some extent 
paraphrase. The thirty sketches of ‘Characters’ 
ascribed to Theophrastus, which have found many 
imitators, and which are well known in this country 
through Sir R. Jebb’s brilliant translation, stand on 
a quite different footing ; the object of this curious 
and amusing work is discussed in Sir R. Jebb’s 
Introduction and in the more recent edition of 
Edmonds and Austen. Well may Aristotle, as we 
are assured, have commended his pupil’s diligence. 
It is said that, when he retired from the headship of 
the school, he handed it over to Theophrastus. We 
are further told that the latter was once prosecuted 
for impiety, but the attack failed; also that he was 
once banished from Athens for a year, it does not 
appear under what circumstances. He was con- 
sidered an attractive and lively lecturer. Diogenes’ 
sketch ends with the quotation of some sayings 
attributed to him, of which the most noteworthy 
are ‘ Nothing costs us so dear as the waste of time,’ 
‘One had better trust an unbridled horse than 
an undigested harangue.’ He was followed to 
his grave, which we may hope was, in accordance 
with his own wish, in some peaceful corner of the 
Lyceum garden, by a great assemblage of his fellow 
townsmen. 


XXVI1 


INTRODUCTION 


The principal references in the notes are to the 
following ancient authors :— 


Apollon. 
Arist. 
Arr: 
Athen. 
Col. 
Diod. 
Diosc. 


(reop. 
Nic. 
Pall. 
Paus. 
Plin. 


Plut. 
Seyl. 


Apollonius, Historia Miraculorum. 

Aristotle. Bekker, Berlin, 1831. 

Arrian. Hercher (Teubner). 

Athenaeus. Dindorf, Leipzig, 1827. 

Columella, de re rustica. Schneider, Leipzig, 1794. 

Diodorus. 

Pedanius Dioscurides, de materia medica. Well- 
mann, Berlin, 1907. 

Geoponica. Beckh (Teubner), 1895. 

Nicander, Theriaca. Schneider, Leipzig, 1816. 

Palladius, de re rustica. Schneider, Leipzig, 1795. 

Pausanias. Schubart (Teubner), Leipzig, 1881. 


Plinius, Naturalis Historia. Mayhoff (Teubner), 
1887. (Reference by book and section.) 


Plutarch. Hercher (Teubner), Leipzig, 1872. 
Scylax, Periplus. Vossius, Amsterdam 1639. 


XX Vil 


1, Aaieaadialao 
hd wart: εὐμνθννθνν 


if ὯΝ ᾿ We int bri 





sit 
x ng “i 






















srs 


re ταῦ τον ᾿ pec ΤῊΝ have A i, a 
τὸ ΤΩΝ nia ΤῊΝ Ἐν or a ee be a | | 
| ne hdeaet ot) νά teal ΔΕΙΝᾺ ig vy nae Ay 
a y ion Ἧ battle * ni tesa ΟΝ were Greil 

“ieee ii ΗΝ reais NE spa seh eaves aT fas sigs Bh bite 


Cy Nae ae 





Ὁ a ee hincee eee ie ales, 
iG } ᾿ 7 2 ᾿ ἐ \ 

: rt 1 7 ] eat er aie Sank ; ete ie of f με me ὺν πὰ % a 

Saeed «. one ne Ἄς OG tha: no ¢ 

an Cet, Ant a irae ino ἡ: 
ων μυνν}. Preeti ὙΠ a Vee, 2) Ve ee i 

x ) : Ay: f via ν inp ees es ἜΗΝ roms Pa 
wa Δ ων δ ee Se Δ ih τ - ὯΝ peut. A 


ey a scene Tt " fy uy τ γε 46) Peak (} Zo δὲ ΔΝ eat: 
ahs reat vrei tis: re ou Paha, Ci, δος ΠΟΙ “ΟΝ 
a : wee ations cial ti wy νοὶ £8 Ἢ a Wes ote κυ 
᾿ πον ἤν ων Αὐβθεν. ἐπε ὃ ποδί patie 
ἢ. wipes riran pat i a one νον: δ) 
of : ‘gh agen, Waly ων mer Re iter th 
| _ 


τ ΠΣ wn) bh, 36 τή jean hall Cocca ti 
᾿ ᾿ ᾿ mnie vet by ip rest ete 


᾿ 









THEOPHRASTUS 


ENQUIRY INTO: PLANTS 
BOOK I 


ΘΕΟΦΡΑΣΤΟΥ͂ 
ΠΕΡῚ ®TTON ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ 


Α 


a Aa Ν x \ Ν 
I. Τῶν φυτῶν τὰς διαφορὰς καὶ τὴν ἄλλην 
΄ / ’ \ , \ \ : 
φύσιν ληπτέον κατά TE TA μέρη Kal τὰ πάθη καὶ 
Ν ΓΖ \ \ , ” N \ 4 
Tas γενέσεις Kal τοὺς βίους: ἤθη yap καὶ πράξεις 
>’ δ) Lcd Ni aA SIN ’ € \ \ 
οὐκ ἔχουσιν ὥσπερ τὰ ζῶα. εἰσὶ δ᾽ αἱ μὲν κατὰ 
\ / \ AS / \ \ / > 
τὴν γένεσιν καὶ τὰ πάθη καὶ τοὺς βίους εὐθεωρη- 
, \ Cae e \ Ν \ , , 
τότεραι καὶ pdous, ai δὲ κατὰ τὰ μέρη πλείους 
’ A lal 
ἔχουσι ποικιλίας. αὐτὸ yap τοῦτο πρῶτον οὐχ 
ς A > , \ a a , \ \ , 
ἱκανῶς ἀφώρισται τὰ ποῖα δεῖ μέρη καὶ μὴ μέρη 
a » % ld 
καλεῖν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔχει τινὰ ἀπορίαν. 
rms \ 5 / ee > lo O07 / a Say 
To μὲν οὖν μέρος ate ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως ὃν ἀεὶ 
a / x e fa) A Ὁ / 2 
δοκεῖ διαμένειν ἢ ἁπλῶς ἢ ὅταν γένηται, καθάπερ 
᾽ A , \ A , Ἁ ” 
ἐν τοῖς ζώοις τὰ ὕστερον γενησόμενα, πλὴν εἴ τι 
1 τὰ ins. Sch., om. Ald.H. 
2 πάθη, a@ more general word than δυνάμεις, ‘virtues’ : 
cf. 1. 5.4; 8. 4. 2; it seems to mean here something like 
‘behaviour,’ in relation to environment. Instances of πάθη 


are given 4. 2.11; 4.14. 6. 
3 ἔχουσι conj. H.; ἔχουσαι W. with Ald. 


2 


THEOPHRASTUS 
ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS 


BOOK: 1 


Or tHe Parts OF PLANTS AND THEIR COMPOSITION. 
Or CLASSIFICATION. 


Introductory: How plants are to be classified; difficulty 
of defining what are the essential ‘parts’ of a plant, 
especially if plants are assumed to correspond to animals. 


I. In considering the distinctive characters of 
plants and their nature generally one must take 
into account their! parts, their qualities? the 
ways in which their life originates, and the course 
which it follows in each case : (conduct and activities 
we do not find in them, as we do in animals). Now 
the differences in the way in which their life origin- 
ates, in their qualities and in their life-history are com- 
paratively easy to observe and are simpler, while 
those shewn® in their ‘parts’ present more com- 
plexity. Indeed it has not even been satisfactorily 
determined what ought and what ought not to be 
called ‘parts, and some difficulty is involved in 
making the distinction. 

Now it appears that by a ‘ part,’ seeing that it is 
something which belongs to the plant’s characteristic 
nature, we mean something which is permanent either 
absolutely or when once it has appeared (like those 
parts of animals which remain for a time undeveloped) 


3 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ὃ \ U A a A 7 ’ , A 
la νόσον ἢ γῆρας ἢ πήρωσιν ἀποβάλλεται. τῶν 
ϑ'.}υ al f Μ γῶν Ἀν ΟΝ x σ Ἄ “ , 
δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς φυτοῖς ἔνια τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐστὶν ὥστ᾽ ἐπέτειον 
Μ \ 4 
ἔχειν τὴν οὐσίαν, οἷον ἄνθος βρύον φύλλον 
ld A \ an a 
καρπός, ἁπλῶς ὅσα πρὸ τῶν καρπῶν ἢ ἅμα 
, a a ” \ ΨΆΝ € , 
γίνεται τοῖς καρποῖς: ἔτι δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ βλαστός" 
> \ / \ ᾽ 
αἰεὶ γὰρ ἐπίφυσιν λαμβάνει τὰ δένδρα κατ 
ς , Μ a a 
ἐνιαυτὸν ὁμοίως ἔν τε τοῖς ἄνω καὶ ἐν τοῖς περὶ 
\ c/s [4 > (2 Lal / / , 
Tas ῥίζας: ὥστε, εἰ μέν τις ταῦτα θήσει μέρη, TO 
fol ΒΥ Μ \ > 7 ἊΝ ᾽ \ 
τε πλῆθος ἀόριστον ἔσται Kal οὐδέποτε TO αὐτὸ 
a , > 0 9 \ , 7, ar 
τῶν μορίων" εἰ δ᾽ αὖ μὴ μέρη, συμβήσεται, δι᾿ ὧν 
[2 4 \ ’ la) \ = / 
τέλεια γίνεται Kal φαίνεται, ταῦτα μὴ εἶναι μέρη: 
\ 
Bractavovta yap καὶ θάλλοντα Kal καρπὸν 
” » / \ (/ \ A 
EYOVTA πάντα καλλίω Kal τελειότερα καὶ δοκεῖ 
\ Μ « \ s b] 4 , δὶ 
καὶ ἔστιν. αἱ μὲν οὖν ἀπορίαι σχεδόν εἰσιν 
αὗται. 
ες , / 
Taya δὲ οὐχ ὁμοίως ἅπαντω ξητητέον οὔτε 
» a Μ 7 4» “ \ \ / 
ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις οὔθ᾽ ὅσα πρὸς τὴν γένεσιν, 
ΕῚ 7 \ 4 / / \ 
αὐτά τε τὰ γεννώμενα μέρη θετέον οἷον τοὺς 
΄ OX \ \ Μ a , ᾽ 
καρπούς. οὐδὲ γὰρ τὰ ἔμβρυα τῶν ζώων. εἰ 


δὲ ἐν τῇ ὥρᾳ ὄψει τοῦτό γε κάλλιστον, 





1 2,6. the male inflorescence of some trees; the term is 
of course wider than ‘ catkin.’ 
4 4.¢. flower, catkin, leaf, fruit, shoot. 


4 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. τ. 2-ὸῈ 


—permanent, that is, unless it be lost by disease, age 
or mutilation. However some of the parts of plants 
are such that their existence is limited to a year, for 
instance, flower, ‘ catkin,’! leaf, fruit, in fact all 
those parts which are antecedent to the fruit or else 
appear along with it. Also the new shoot itself must 
be included with these; for trees always make fresh 
growth every year alike in the parts above ground 
and in those which pertain to the roots. So that if 
one sets these 2 down as ‘ parts, the number of parts 
will be indeterminate and constantly changing ; 
if on the other hand these are not to be called 
‘parts,’ the result will be that things which are 
essential if the plant is to reach its perfection, and 
which are its conspicuous features, are nevertheless 
not ‘parts’; for any plant always appears to be, as 
indeed it is, more comely and more perfect when it 
makes new growth, blooms, and bears fruit. Such, 
we may say, are the difficulties involved in defining 
a § part.’ 

But perhaps we should not expect to find in 
plants a complete correspondence with animals 
in regard to those things which concern repro- 
duction any more than in other respects; and so 
we should reckon as ‘parts’ even those things 
to which the plant gives birth, for instance their 
fruits, although *? we do not so reckon the unborn 
young of animals. (However, if such 6 a product seems 
fairest to the eye, because the plant is then in its 
prime, we can draw no inference from this in 


3 οὐδὲ γὰρ : οὐδὲ seems to mean no more than οὐ (cf. neque 
enim=non enim) ; γὰρ refers back to the beginning of the ὃ. 

4 ἐν τῇ Spa ὄψει τοῦτό ye I conj.; τῇ ὥρᾳ ὄψει τό γε vulg. 
W.; τοῦτο, t.e. flower or fruit. 


5 


THEOPHRASTUS 


2Q\ A > \ \ a , b a x 
οὐδὲν σημεῖον, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν ζώων εὐθενεῖ τὰ 
/ 
κύοντα. 
XN ’ ’ \ 
Πολλὰ δὲ καὶ τὰ μέρη κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν ἀπο- 
΄ / “ » \ / \ 
βάλλει, καθάπερ οἱ τε ἔλαφοι τὰ κέρατα καὶ 
ἡ \ Ἂν \ fd ΄ 
τὰ φωλεύοντα τὰ πτερὰ καὶ τρίχας τετράποδα" 
“ 2 »>Q\ » ” \ es a a 
ὥστ᾽ οὐδὲν ἄτοπον ἄλλως TE καὶ ὅμοιον ὃν TO 
val \ / 
φυλλοβολεῖν τὸ πάθος. 
€ 7, ἵν AC \ \ \ ,ὔ 5 \ \ 
Ὡσαύτως δ᾽ οὐδὲ τὰ πρὸς τὴν γένεσιν" ἐπεὶ Kal 
Taal XY \ , \ » 
ἐν τοῖς ζώοις τὰ μὲν συνεκτίκτεται τὰ δ᾽ ἀπο- 
͵ , ἢ , a ΄ὕ ” 
καθαίρεται καθάπερ ἀλλότρια τῆς φύσεως. ἔοικε 
, \ \ \ \ / 
δὲ παραπλησίως Kal Ta περὶ THY βλάστησιν 
A / 
ἔχειν. ἡ yap τοι βλάστησις γενέσεως χάριν ἐστὶ 
n , 
τῆς τελειας. 
\ 
Ὅλως δὲ καθάπερ εἴπομεν οὐδὲ πάντα 
- , AP 9 TN ζω ΄ / x A \ ¢ 
ὁμοίως καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων ληπτέον. δι᾽ ὃ Kal ὁ 
x died a \ \ 
ἀριθμὸς ἀόριστος: πανταχῆ yap βλαστητικὸν 
. rn “ [7 fal \ 
ἅτε καὶ πανταχῆ ζῶν. ὥστε ταῦτα μὲν οὕτως 
ς / 3 / ’ \ a ᾽ \ \ al 
ὑποληπτέον οὐ μόνον εἰς τῶ VUY AANA καὶ τῶν 
/ / “ ἣν \ al > 
μελλόντων χάριν: ὅσα yap μὴ οἷόν τε ado- 
a , \ / 7 
μοιοῦν περίεργον TO γλίχεσθαι πάντως, ἵνα μὴ 
\ \ ᾽ td Ἢ / / « \ 
καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν ἀποβάλλωμεν θεωρίαν. ἡ δὲ 
/ a a lal > a a 
ἱστορία τῶν φυτῶν ἐστιν WS ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ἢ KATA 





1 εὐθενεῖ conj. Sch., εὐθετεῖ UMVAId. 16. we do not 
argue from the fact that animals are at their handsomest 
in the breeding season that the young is therefore ‘part’ of 
the animal. 

2 Lit. ‘which are in holes,’ in allusion to the well-known 
belief that animals (especially birds) which are out of sight 
in the winter are hiding in holes; the text is supported by 
[Arist.] de plantis 1. 3, the author of which had evidently 
read this passage ; but possibly some such words as τάς τε 
φολίδας καὶ have dropped out after φωλεύοντα. 


6 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1. 3-4 


support of our argument, since even among animals 
those that are with young are at their best.1) 

Again many plants shed their parts every year, 
even as stags shed their horns, birds which hiber- 
nate? their feathers, four-footed beasts their hair : 
so that it is not strange that the parts of plants 
should not be permanent, especially as what thus 
occurs in animals and the shedding of leaves in 
plants are analogous processes. 

In like manner the parts concerned with repro- 
duction are not permanent in plants; for even 
in animals there are things which are separated 
from the parent when the young is born, and 
there are other things? which are cleansed away, 
as though neither of these belonged to the animal’s 
essential nature. And so too it appears to be with 
the growth of plants; for of course growth leads up 
to reproduction as the completion of the process. 

And in general, as we have said, we must not assume 
that in all respects there is complete correspondence 
between plants and animals. And that is why the 
number also of parts is indeterminate ; for a plant has 
the power of growth in all its parts, inasmuch as it 
has life in allits parts. Wherefore we should assume 
the truth to be as I have said, not only in regard to 
the matters now before us, but in view also of those 
which will come before us presently ; for it is waste 
of time to take great pains to make comparisons 
where that is impossible, and in so doing we may 
lose sight also of our proper subject of enquiry. 
The enquiry into plants, to put it generally, may 

3 2,6. the embryo is not the only thing derived from the 
parent animal which is not a ‘ part’ of it; there is also the 


ised supply ἘΠ ἢ with the young, and the after-birth. 
a Che Corn 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ Μ , \ \ μέ \ a \ \ 
τὰ ἔξω μόρια Kal THY ὅλην μορφὴν ἢ κατὰ τὰ 
/ [4 > \ A“ ᾿ \ lal “ 
ἐντὸς, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων τὰ ἐκ τῶν ἀνατομῶν. 

/ 3 a a an 
Ληπτέον δ᾽ ἐν αὐτοῖς ποῖά τε πᾶσιν ὑπάρχει 
Sree N \ lal ” a) re / ” \ 
ταὐτὰ Kat ποῖα ἴδια καθ᾽ ἕκαστον γένος, ἔτι δὲ 
- > “ “Ὁ Ψ / ’ 
TOV αὐτῶν ποῖα ὅμοια' λέγω δ᾽ οἷον φύλλον pita 
, ᾽ a \ \ a 
φλοιός. οὐ δεῖ δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτο λανθάνειν εἴ TL κατ᾽ 
> / / “ SAX a ΄ \ 
ἀναλογίαν θεωρητέον, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων, τὴν 
> \ (/ a ee \ \ > 
ἀναφορὰν ποιουμένους δῆλον OTL πρὸς τὰ ἐμ- 
, \ , \ 9 “ ee 4 
φερέστατα καὶ τελειότατα. Kal ἁπλῶς δὲ ὅσα 
a ΜΝ lal > , a > -“ , € 
τῶν ἐν φυτοῖς ἀφομοιωτέον τῷ ἐν τοῖς ζώοις, ὡς 
» ’ / 2a tr ’ a a N = 
ἄν τίς τῴ γ᾽ ἀνάλογον ἀφομοιοῖ. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν 
I \ ’ ΄“ 
διωρίσθω τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον. 
e Ἁ lal A 
Αἱ δὲ τῶν μερῶν διαφοραὶ σχεδὸν ὡς τύπῳ 
cr ᾽ 2 / a A \ \ Μ 
λαβεῖν εἰσιν ἐν τρισίν, ἢ τῷ τὰ μὲν ἔχειν 


lal 


\ \ ΄ὕ , fi \ , a 
τὰ δὲ μή, καθάπερ φύλλα Kal καρπόν, ἢ TO 
Ἁ «“ \ ” Ba , an \ ς / 
μὴ ὅμοια μηδὲ ἴσα, ἢ τρίτον τῷ μὴ ὁμοίως. 
’ \ € Ἂν » / e / / 
τούτων δὲ ἡ μὲν ἀνομοιότης ὁρίζεται σχήματι 

’ / / ’ 
χρώματι πυκνότητι μανότητι τραχύτητι λειότητι 
καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις πάθεσιν, ἔτι δὲ ὅσαι διαφοραὶ 

“ “Ὁ / an 
TOV χυλῶν. ἡ δὲ ἀνισότης ὑπεροχῇ Kal ἐλλείψει 


κατὰ πλῆθος ἢ μέγεθος. ὡς δ᾽ εἰπεῖν τύπῳ 


1 A very obscure sentence ; so W. renders the MSS. text. 
2 2,6. ‘inequality’ might include ‘ unlikeness.’ 


8 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1. 4-6 


either take account of the external parts and the 
form of the plant generally, or else of their internal 
parts: the latter method corresponds to the study of 
animals by dissection. 

Further we must consider which parts belong to 
all plants alike, which are peculiar to some one 
kind, and which of those which belong to all alike 
are themselves alike in all cases; for instance, leaves 
roots bark. And again, if in some cases analogy 
ought to be considered (for instance, an analogy 
presented by animals), we must keep this also in 
view ; and in that case we must of course make the 
closest resemblances and the most perfectly de- 
veloped examples our standard; 1!and, finally, the 
ways in which the parts of plants are affected must be 
compared to the corresponding effects in the case of 
animals, so far as one can in any given case find an 
analogy for comparison. So let these definitions 
stand. 


The essential parts of plants, and the materials of which 
they are made. 


Now the differences in regard to parts, to take 
a general view, are of three kinds: either one plant 
may possess them and another not (for instance, 
leaves and fruit), or in one plant they may be unlike 
in appearance or size to those of another, or, thirdly, 
they may be differently arranged. Now the unlike- 
ness between them is seen in form, colour, closeness of 
arrangement or its opposite, roughness or its opposite, 
and the other qualities; and again there are the 
various differences of flavour. The inequality is seen 
in excess or defect as to number or size, or, to speak 
generally, ?all the above-mentioned differences too 


9 


9 


THEOPHRASTUS 


a ’ » \ 
κἀκεῖνα πάντα καθ᾽ ὑπεροχὴν καὶ ἔλλειψιν" TO 
\ a Ss \ ’ 
yap μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον ὑπεροχὴ καὶ ἔλλειψις": TO 
\ Vo , a / ih / 3) e \ 
δὲ μὴ ὁμοίως τῇ θέσει διαφέρει: λέγω δ᾽ οἷον τὸ 
\ \ a 
τοὺς καρποὺς τὰ μὲν ἐπάνω τὰ δ᾽ ὑποκάτω TOV 
/ ” \ ᾽ a a / AS \ 3 
φύλλων ἔχειν Kal αὐτοῦ Tov δένδρου τὰ μὲν ἐξ 
», \ Nie) n / ” \ Aj ess a 
ἄκρου Ta δὲ ἐκ τῶν πλαγίων, ἔνια δὲ Kal ἐκ τοῦ 
7 ι ἡ id ’ / / Ne ef, \ 
στελέχους, οἷον ἡ Αἰγυπτία συκάμινος, Kal ὅσα δὴ 
an / \ 
Kal ὑπὸ γῆς φέρει καρπόν, οἷον ἥ TE ἀραχίδνα καὶ 
“. > \ 
τὸ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καλούμενον οὔϊγγον, καὶ εἰ τὰ μὲν 
» \ a / ¢ , 
ἔχει μίσχον τὰ δὲ μή. Kal ἐπὶ TOV ἀνθέων ὁμοίως: 
Ν Ν \ \ > \ ἊΝ ‘ \ δὲ Vv 
τὰ μὲν γὰρ περὶ αὐτὸν TOV καρπὸν τὰ δὲ ἄλλως. 
δ a / a / 
ὅλως δὲ TO τῆς θέσεως ἐν τούτοις Kal τοῖς φύλλοις 
A 33 a an , 
καὶ ἐν τοῖς βλαστοῖς ληπτέον. 
a \ \ 
Διαφέρει δὲ ἔνια καὶ τῇ τάξει: τὰ μὲν ws 
a >] [ἐ al ’ 
ἔτυχε, τῆς δ᾽ ἐλάτης οἱ κλῶνες KAT ἀλλήλους 
ε / a \ \ Ce st See \ 
ἑκατέρωθεν: τῶν δὲ καὶ οἱ ὄζοι δι’ ἴσου τε Kai 
’ > lal / 
κατ᾽ ἀριθμὸν ἴσοι, καθάπερ τῶν τριόζων. 
\ \ / 
“Ὥστε τὰς μὲν διαφορὰς ἐκ τούτων ληπτέον ἐξ 
ka δ ΤΕ ier \ a 3. Ὁ 
ὧν καὶ ἡ ὅλη μορφὴ συνδηλοῦται καθ᾽ ἕκαστον. 
\ \ / 7, 
Αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ μέρη διαριθμησαμένους πειρατέον 
/ a 
περὶ ἑκάστου λέγειν. ἔστι δὲ πρῶτα μὲν Kal 
al / 
μέγιστα καὶ κοινὰ τῶν πλείστων τάδε, pita 
Ν » \ / ’ A / ᾽ yy 
καυλὸς ἀκρεμὼν κλάδος, εἰς ἃ διέλοιτ᾽ ἄν τις 





A) Ge SEY aes ol ee! 
2 cf. 1. 6. 11. T. extends the term καρπός so as to 


include any succulent edible part of a plant. 
3 T. does not consider that καρπός was necessarily ante- 


ceded by a flower. 
Io 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. τ. 6-9 


are included under excess and defect: for the ‘more’ 
and the ‘less’ are the same thing as excess and 
defect, whereas ‘differently arranged’ implies a 
difference of position; for instance, the fruit may 
be above or below the leaves,! and, as to position on 
the tree itself, the fruit may grow on the apex of it 
or on the side branches, and in some cases even on 
the trunk, as in the sycamore; while some plants 
again even bear their fruit underground, for in- 
stance arakhidna® and the plant called in Egypt 
uingon ; again in some plants the fruit has a stalk, in 
some it has none. There is a like difference in the 
floral organs: in some cases they actually surround 
the fruit, in others they are differently placed®: in 
fact it is in regard to the fruit, the leaves, and the shoots 
that the question of position has to be considered. 

Or again there are differences as to symmetry ?#: 
in some cases the arrangement is irregular, while the 
branches of the silver-fir are arranged opposite one 
another; and in some cases the branches are at 
equal distances apart, and correspond in number, as 
where they are in three rows.® 

Wherefore the differences between plants must 
be observed in these particulars, since taken together 
they shew forth the general character of each plant. 

But, before we attempt to speak about each, we 
must make a list of the parts themselves. Now the 
primary and most important parts, which are also 
common to most, are these—root, stem, branch, twig ; 
these are the parts into which we might divide the 
plant, regarding them as members,® corresponding to 


2 Pine G22. 5.2.6. ternate. 
6 7.e. if we wished to make an anatomical division. μέλη 
conj. Sch. cf. 1.2.73 μέρη Ald. 


II 


10 


11 


THEOPHRASTUS 


“ἤ ᾽ lé / > \ Lal , “ , 
ὥσπερ εἰς μέλη, καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων. ἕκαστόι 
id eC 
τε yap ἀνόμοιον καὶ ἐξ ἁπάντων τούτων τὰ ὅλα. 
dy δὲ C7, \ ὃ 2 ae \ \ > ’ὔ 
ott δὲ ῥίζα μὲν δι’ οὗ τὴν τροφὴν ἐπάγεται, 
ὃ / \ 
καυλὸς δὲ εἰς ὃ φέρεται. καυλὸν δὲ λέγω τὸ ὑπὲρ 
a » δ Te “-“ \ / « 
γῆς πεφυκὸς ἐφ᾽ ἕν: τοῦτο γὰρ κοινότατον ὁμοίως 
/ , aA a 
ἐπετείοις καὶ γχρονίοις, ὃ ἐπὶ τῶν δένδρων 
lal / / ᾽ \ 
καλεῖται στέλεχος: ἀκρεμόνας δὲ τοὺς ἀπὸ 
/ ay y n 3 
τούτου σχιζομένους, ovs ἔνιοι καλοῦσιν ὄζους. 
\ \ iA \ 
κλάδον δὲ τὸ βλάστημα TO ἐκ τούτων ἐφ᾽ ἕν, οἷον 
Ν / 
μάλιστα TO ἐπέτειον. 
a Ἢ fa) 
Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν οἰκειότερα τῶν δένδρων. 
, 
ὁ δὲ καυλός, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, κοινότερος" ἔχει 
δὲ οὐ πάντα οὐδὲ τοῦτον, οἷον ἔνια τῶν ποιω- 
n \ ‘ ᾽ 
δῶν. τὰ δ᾽ ἔχει μὲν οὐκ ἀεὶ δὲ GAN ἐπέτειον, 
A “ / “ δι “ \ 
καὶ ὅσα χρονιώτερα ταῖς ῥίζαις. ὅλως δὲ 
/ ἊΝ sy \ / \ \ 
πολύχουν TO φυτὸν καὶ ποικίλον καὶ χαλεπὸν 
> a / a δὲ \ \ 3 \ 
εἰπεῖν καθόλου: σημεῖον δὲ TO μηδὲν εἶναι κοινὸν 
Qn A a e / Vs “Ὁ Ψ 
λαβεῖν ὃ πᾶσιν ὑπάρχει, καθώπερ τοῖς ζώοις 
/ \ / \ \ ? , ᾽ \ Ἂν ’ 
στόμα Kal κοιλία. τὰ δὲ ἀναλογίᾳ ταὐτὰ τὰ ὃ 
”. 7 \ ev / Si SV, 7 
ἄλλον τρόπον. οὔτε yap ῥίζαν πάντ᾽ ἔχει οὔτε καυ- 
Ul 
λὸν οὔτε ἀκρεμόνα οὔτε κλάδον οὔτε φύλλον οὔτε 
» BA \ CAs 4 Ἂ a / Ae a 
ἄνθος οὔτε καρπὸν οὔτ᾽ αὖ φλοιὸν ἢ μήτραν ἢ ἶνας ἢ 
7 - ’ Ὁ ? ΄ Ὧν ΤῸ 3. 
φλέβας, οἷον μύκης ὕδνον' ἐν τούτοις δὲ ἡ οὐσία 
καὶ ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἀλλὰ μάλιστα ταῦτα 





1 2,6. before it begins to divide. 2 Or ‘ knots.’ 
3 ἐφ᾽ conj. W.; ὑφ᾽ P,P,Ald. 

4 χρονιώτερα conj. Sch.; χρονιώτερον Ald.H 

5 ἀναλογίᾳ conj. Sch. ; ἀναλογία UAld. H. 


[2 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1. 9-11 


the members of animals: for each of these is distinct 
in character from the rest, and together they make 
up the whole. 

The root is that by which the plant draws its 
nourishment, the stem that to which it is con- 
ducted. And by the ‘stem’ I mean that part 
which grows above ground and is single!; for that 
is the part which occurs most generally both in 
annuals and in long-lived plants; and in the case 
of trees it is called the ‘trunk.’ By ‘branches’ 
I mean the parts which split off from the stem and 
are called by some ‘boughs.’? By ‘twig’ I mean 
the growth which springs from the branch regarded 
as a single whole,? and especially such an annual 
growth. 

Now these parts belong more particularly to 
trees. The stem however, as has been said, is more 
general, though not all plants possess even this, 
for instance, some herbaceous plants are stemless; 
others again have it, not permanently, but as an 
annual growth, including some whose roots live beyond 
the year.* In fact your plant is a thing various and 
manifold, and so it is difficult to describe in general 
terms: in proof whereof we have the fact that we 
cannot here seize on any universal character which 
is common to all, as a mouth and a stomach are com- 
mon toall animals ; whereas in plants some characters 
are the same in all, merely in the sense that all 
have analogous ® characters, while others correspond 
otherwise. For not all plants have root, stem, branch, 
twig, leaf, flower or fruit, or again bark, core, fibres 
or veins; for instance, fungi and truffles; and yet 
these and such like characters belong to a plant’s 
essential nature. However, as has been said, these 


13 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ὑπιίρχει, καθάπερ εἴρηται, τοῖς δένδροις κἀκεινων 
οἰκειότερος ὁ μερισμός. πρὸς ἃ καὶ τὴν ἀναφορὰν 
τῶν ἄλλων ποιεῖσθαι δίκαιον. 
\ 7 \ 
Σχεδὸν δὲ Kal Tas ἄλλας μορφὰς ἑκάστων 
n fe AS an 
ταῦτα διασημαίνει. διαφέρουσι yap πλήθει τῷ 
΄ / 
τούτων καὶ ὀλιγότητι Kal πυκνότητι καὶ pavo- 
\ a > , a xX 3 / / \ 
τητι Kal TO Eh ἕν ἢ εἰς πλείω σχίζεσθαι καὶ 
nr a [4 4 δ nr 
τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς ὁμοίοις. ἔστι δὲ ἕκαστον τῶν 
€ / / \ e 
εἰρημένων οὐχ ὁμοιομερές" λέγω δὲ οὐχ ὁμοιο- 
εξ al “ \ € lal 
μερὲς OTL ἐκ TOV αὐτῶν μὲν ὁτιοῦν μέρος σύγς- 
a e/ \ r / > ’ > 
KeLTaL THS ῥίζης Kal τοῦ. στελέχους, GAN ov 
/ ἊΝ \ N 
λέγεται στέλεχος TO ληφθὲν ἀλλὰ μόριον, ὡς 
lal lal / “ a 
ἐν τοῖς TOV ζώων μέλεσίν ἐστιν. ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν μὲν 
id lal rn 7 XN Qn “ 
γὰρ ὁτιοῦν τῆς κνήμης ἢ τοῦ ἀγκῶνος, οὐχ 
ξ ’ XN / \ \ > n > . 
ὁμώνυμον δὲ καθάπερ σὰρξ καὶ ὀστοῦν, ἀλλ 
> / »O\ \ a ” > \ Ὁ“ 
ἀνώνυμον" οὐδὲ δὴ τῶν ἄλλων οὐδενὸς ὅσα μονο- 
nr lal n A n 
ειἰδῆ τῶν ὀργανικῶν: ἁπάντων γὰρ τῶν τοιούτων 
Ν / a lal 
ἀνώνυμα Ta μέρη. τῶν δὲ πολυειδῶν ὠνομασμένα 
/ Ν Ν aA a / 
καθάπερ ποδὸς χειρὸς κεφαλῆς, οἷον δάκτυλος 
ev ’ / x XN \ / / ἣς 
ῥὶς ὀφθαλμός. καὶ τὰ μὲν μέγιστα μέρη σχεδὸν 
ταῦτά ἐστιν. 
” Nee φ a \ 
Andra δὲ ἐξ ὧν ταῦτα φλοιὸς ξύλον μήτρα, 
/ e an 
ὅσα ἔχει μήτραν. πάντα δ᾽ ὁμοιομερῆ. καὶ τὰ 
\ / 3, 3 e “ 
τούτων δὲ ἔτι πρότερα καὶ ἐξ ὧν ταῦτα, ὑγρὸν is 


— 





1 There 1s no exact English equivalent for ὁμοιομερές, 
which denotes a whole composed of parts, each of which is, 
as it were, a miniature of the whole. cf. Arist. H.A. 1. 1. 

2.2.6. any part taken of flesh or bone may be called 
‘ flesh’ or ‘ bone.’ 

6.9 MAES OF 5 ihe ards 4 e.g. fruit. 


τῇ 


ENQUIRY GINTO JPEANTS. Τὸ τ 111. 1 


characters belong especially to trees, and our 
classification of characters belongs more particularly 
to these ; and it is right to make these the standard 
in treating of the others. 

Trees moreover shew forth fairly well the other 
features also which distinguish plants; for they exhibit 
differences in the number or fewness of these which 
they possess, as to the closeness or openness of their 
growth, as to their being single or divided, and in 
other like respects. Moreover each of the characters 
mentioned is not ‘composed of like parts’!; by 
which I mean that though any given part of the root 
or trunk is composed of the same elements as the 
whole, yet the part so taken is not itself called 
‘trunk,’ but ‘a portion of a trunk.’ The case is the 
same with the members of an animal’s body; to 
wit, any part of the leg or arm is composed of the 
same elements as the whole, yet it does not bear the 
same name (as it does in the case of flesh or bone *) ; 
it has no special name. Nor again have subdivisions 
of any of those other organic parts* which are uniform 
special names, subdivisions of all such being nameless. 
But the subdivisions of those parts? which are 
compound have names, as have those of the foot, 
hand, and head, for instance, toe, finger, nose or eye. 
Such then are the largest ὃ parts of the plant. 

IJ. Again there are the things of which such parts 
are composed, namely bark, wood, and core (in the 
case of those plants which have it®), and these are 
all ‘composed of like parts.’ Further there are 
the things which are even prior to these, from which 


5 4.e. the ‘ compound’ parts. 
6 ξύλον μήτρα conj. W. from G. μήτρα ξύλον MSS. 
ξύλον, ὅσα conj. W.; ξύλα, ἢ ὅσα Ald. H. 


18 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Nex / ’ \ 2 \ 7 , 
φλὲψ σάρξ' ἀρχαὶ γὰρ αὗται" πλὴν εἴ τις λέγοι 
\ “ / τ 
τὰς τῶν στοιχείων δυνάμεις, αὗται δὲ κοιναὶ πάν- 
ι Ν φ > ’ὔ Ἁ ΕΥ̓͂ fy > Be 
των. ἡ μὲν οὖν οὐσία Kal ἡ ὅλη φύσις ἐν τούτοις. 
ν δ᾽ > \ “ > / / \ Ν 
Αλλα δ᾽ ἐστὶν ὥσπερ ἐπέτεια μέρη τὰ πρὸς 
Ἁ , τῷ ,, A / 
τὴν καρποτοκίαν, οἷον φύλλον ἄνθος μίσχος" 
τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶν ᾧ συνήρτηται πρὸς τὸ φυτὸν τὸ 
e [ , J 
φύλλον καὶ ὁ καρπός: ἔτι δὲ [ἕλιξ] βρύον, οἷς 
a , “ fal 
ὑπάρχει, Kal ἐπὶ πᾶσι σπέρμα TO τοῦ καρποῦ" 
> . an 
καρπὸς δ᾽ ἐστὶ τὸ συγκείμενον σπέρμα μετὰ TOD 
an ’, 
περικαρπίου. παρὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐνίων ἴδια ἄττα, 
4 ς \ XN Ne. >’ / 
καθάπερ ἡ κηκὶς δρυὸς καὶ ἡ ἕλιξ ἀμπέλου. 
a \ IZ ” c a 
Καὶ τοῖς μὲν δένδρεσιν ἔστιν οὕτως διαλαβεῖν. 
a / fol 
τοῖς δ᾽ ἐπετείοις δῆλον ὡς ἅπαντα ἐπέτεια" 
μέχρι γὰρ τῶν καρπῶν ἡ φύσις. ὅσα δὴ ἐπετειό- 
AL Ti / / XS of ᾽ 
καρπα καὶ ὅσα διετίξει, καθάπερ σέλινον καὶ ἄλλ 
> \ , / 
ἄττα, καὶ ὅσα δὲ πλείω χρόνον ἔχει, τούτοις 
[Ὡ Ν ς \ > / \ , 
ἅπασι καὶ ὁ καυλὸς ἀκολουθήσει κατὰ λόγον." 
Y a / “ 
ὅταν γὰρ σπερμοφορεῖν μέλλωσι, τότε ἐκκαυλοῦ- 
σιν, ὡς ἕνεκα τοῦ σπέρματος ὄντων τῶν καυλῶν. 
Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ταύτῃ διηρήσθω. τῶν δὲ ἄρτι 
“ , a 
εἰρημένων μερῶν πειρατέον ἕκαστον εἰπεῖν τί 
ἐστιν ὡς ἐν τύπῳ λέγοντας. 
ἣν \ 7 e \ , A \ a , 
To μὲν οὖν ὑγρὸν φανερόν: ὃ δὴ καλοῦσί τινες 
΄ “" lé “ 
ἀπλῶς ἐν ἅπασιν ὁπόν, ὥσπερ καὶ Μενέστωρ, οἱ 





1 οὐσία conj. Sch. (but he retracted it); συνουσία MSS. (?) 
Ald. 

2 This definition is quoted by Hesych. s.v. μίσχος. 

3 20m. ἕλιξ, which is mentioned below. 

4 τὸ συγκείμενον σπέρμα, lit. ‘the compound seed,’ t.e. as 
many seeds as are contained in one περικάρπιον. 


16 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1. 1-3 


they are derived—-sap, fibre, veins, flesh: for these 
are elementary substances—unless one should prefer 
to call them the active principles of the elements ; 
and they are common to all the parts of the plant. 
Thus the essence! and entire material of plants 
consist in these. 

Again there are other as it were annual parts, 
which help towards the production of the fruit, as 
leaf, flower, stalk (that is, the part by which the 
leaf and the fruit are attached to the plant),? and 
again tendril,? ‘catkin’ (in those plants that have 
them). And in all cases there is the seed which 
belongs to the fruit: by ‘fruit’ is meant the seed 
or seeds,* together with the seed-vessel. Besides 
these there are in some cases peculiar parts, such 
as the gall in the oak, or the tendril in the vine. 

In the case of trees we may thus distinguish the 
annual parts, while it is plain that in annual plants all 
the parts are annual: for the end of their being is 
attained when the fruit is produced. And with 
those plants which bear fruit annually, those which 
take two years (such as celery and certain others 5) 
and those which have fruit on them for a longer time 
—with all these the stem will correspond to the 
vlant’s length of life: for plants develop a stem at 
whatever time they are about to bear seed, seeing 
that the stem exists for the sake of the seed. 

Let this suffice for the definition of these parts : 
and now we must endeavour to say what each of the 
parts just mentioned is, giving a general and typical 
description. 

The sap is obvious: some call it simply in all cases 
‘juice, as does Menestor® among others: others, in 


>of. 7.1.2and3. © A Pythagorean philosopher of Sybaris. 
17 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ppt) \ a ” ᾽ ΄, 2 , ’ \ 
δ᾽ ἐν μὲν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀνωνύμως ἐν δέ τισιν ὀπὸν 
,, 
καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις δάκρυον. ives δὲ καὶ φλέβες καθ᾽ 
X “ G , 
αὑτὰ μὲν ἀνώνυμα τῇ δὲ ὁμοιότητι μεταλαμβά- 
a a / 
νουσε τῶν ἐν τοῖς ζώοις μορίων. ἔχει δὲ ἴσως 
Ν \ \ a Nee \ - 
καὶ ἄλλας διαφορὰς καὶ ταῦτα καὶ ὅλως τὸ τῶν 
φυτῶν γένος: πολύχουν γὰρ ὥσπερ εἰρήκαμεν. 
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεὶ διὰ τῶν γνωριμωτέρων μεταδιώκειν δεῖ 
\ \ fe 
τὰ ἀγνώριστα, γνωριμώτερα δὲ τὰ μείζω Kal ἐμ- 
φανῆ τῇ αἰσθήσει, δῆλον ὅτι καθάπερ ὑφήγηται 
/ 
περὶ τούτων λεκτέον: ἐπαναφορὰν yap ἕξομεν 
τῶν ἄλλων πρὸς ταῦτα μέχρι πόσου καὶ πῶς 
a c , \ 
ἕκαστα μετέχει τῆς ὁμοιότητος. εἰλημμένων δὲ 
τῶν μερῶν μετὰ ταῦτα ληπτέον τὰς τούτων 
"Ἢ , \ 
διαφοράς: οὕτως γὰρ ἅμα Kal ἡ οὐσία φανερὰ 
\ Ca Lal “ ἣν » / 
Kal ἡ ὅλη TOV γενῶν πρὸς ἄλληλα διάστασις. 
Ἡ μὲν οὖν τῶν μεγίστων σχεδὸν εἴρηται: λέγω 
’ -ε ἰὴ a a ” ς Ν / 
δ᾽ οἷον ῥίζης καυλοῦ τῶν ἄλλων" αἱ yap δυνάμεις 
καὶ ὧν χάριν ἕκαστον ὕστερον ῥηθήσονται. ἐξ 
e a \ 
ὧν yap καὶ ταῦτα καὶ τὰ ἄλλα σύγκειται 
a / \ a 
πειρατέον εἰπεῖν ἀρξαμένους ἀπὸ TOY πρώτων. 
a \ 
Πρῶτα δέ ἐστι τὸ ὑγρὸν καὶ θερμόν" ἅπαν yap 
᾿ς 
φυτὸν ἔχει τινὰ ὑγρότητα καὶ θερμότητα σύμ- 
\ a 
φυτον ὥσπερ Kal ζῶον, ὧν ὑπολειπόντων γίνεται 
a \ ὔ ’ \ oe , , 
γῆρας καὶ φθίσις, τελείως δὲ ὑπολιπόντων θάνα- 
τος καὶ αὔανσις. ἐν μὲν οὖν τοῖς πλείστοις ἀνώ- 





1 Lit. ‘ muscles and veins.’ 

2 2,6. the analogy with animals is probably imperfect, but 
is useful so far as it goes. 

Σ᾿ lO: 4 e.g. the root, as such. 

5 e.g. the different forms which roots assume. 


18 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1. 3-5 


the case of some plants give it no special name, while 
in some they call it ‘juice,’ and in others ‘gum.’ 
Fibre and ‘ veins’! have no special names in relation 
to plants, but, because of the resemblance, borrow 
the names of the corresponding parts of animals. ? It 
may be however that, not only these things, but the 
world of plants generally, exhibits also other differ- 
ences as compared with animals: for, as we have 
said,? the world of plants is manifold. However, 
since it is by the help of the better known that we 
must pursue the unknown, and better known are the 
things which are larger and plainer to our senses, 
it is clear that it is right to speak of these things in 
the way indicated: for then in dealing with the 
less known things we shall be making these better 
known things our standard, and shall ask how far and 
in what manner comparison is possible in each case. 
And when we have taken the parts,4 we must next 
take the differences which they exhibit,> for thus 
will their essential nature become plain, and at the 
same time the general differences between one kind 
of plant and another. 

Now the nature of the most important parts has 
been indicated already, that is, such parts as the 
root, the stem, and the rest: their functions and the 
reasons for which each of them exists will be set forth 
presently. For we must endeavour to state of what 
these, as well as the rest, are composed, starting from 
their elementary constituents. 

First come moisture and warmth : for every plant, 
like every animal, has a certain amount of moisture 
and warmth which essentially belong to it; and, if 
these fall short, age and decay, le if they fail 
altogether, death and witheri ing ensue. Now in 


19 


THEOPHRASTUS 


U ᾽ 7, ΄ ΄ 
νυμος ἡ ὑγρότης, ἐν ἐνίοις δὲ ὠνομασμένη καθάπερ 
\ a 
εἴρηται. τὸ αὐτὸ δὲ Kal ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων ὑπάρχει: 

\ e a / 
μόνη yap ἡ τῶν ἐναίμων ὑγρότης ὠνόμασται, Ov 
, rn 
ὃ καὶ διήρηται πρὸς τοῦτο στερήσει" τὰ μὲν γὰρ 
\ >» / fal 
ἄναιμα τὰ δ᾽ ἔναιμα λέγεται. ἕν TL μὲν οὖν τοῦτο 
τὸ μέρος καὶ τὸ τούτῳ συνηρτημένον θερμόν. 
᾽ la) 
ἼΛλλα δ᾽ ἤδη ἕτερα τῶν ἐντός, ἃ καθ᾽ ἑαυτὰ μέν 
\ \ e 
ἐστιν ἀνώνυμα, διὰ δὲ τὴν ὁμοιότητα ἀπεικάζεται 
a lal , \ 7 
τοῖς τῶν ζώων μορίοις. ἔχουσι yap ὥσπερ ivas: 
΄ 7, 
6 ἐστι συνεχὲς καὶ σχιστὸν καὶ ἐπίμηκες, ἀπαρά- 
βλαστον δὲ καὶ ἄβλαστον. ἔτι δὲ φλέβας. αὗται 
\ \ \ BA 3. τὴν 7 a ST, / \ \ 
δὲ Ta μὲν ἄλλα εἰσὶν ὅμοιαι TH ivi, μείζους δὲ Kal 
παχύτεραι Kal παραβλάστας ἔχουσαι καὶ ὑγρό- 
» ΙΑ \ / \ \ \ Μ᾿ 
τητα. ἔτι ξύλον καὶ σάρξ. τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἔχει 
4 Ni \ / ” \ \ \ 4 
σάρκα Ta δὲ ξύλον. ἔστι δὲ TO μὲν ξύλον σχισ- 
x nr - n 
τόν, ἡ δὲ σὰρξ πάντη διαιρεῖται ὥσπερ γῆ Kal 
.“ “ \ \ , + abe, | \ / 
ὅσα γῆς" μεταξὺ δὲ γίνεται ἰνὸς καὶ φλεβός" 
\ Wink ΄ >A b ” % os a 
φανερὰ δὲ ἡ φύσις αὐτῆς ἐν ἄλλοις TE καὶ ἐν τοῖς 
τῶν περικαρπίων δέρμασι. φλοιὸς δὲ καὶ μήτρα 
, \ / ‘al \ bf \ \ a / 
κυρίως μὲν λέγεται, δεῖ δὲ αὐτὰ καὶ τῷ λόγῳ 
διορίσαι. φλοιὸς μὲν οὖν ἐστι τὸ ἔσχατον καὶ 
fa! Ἄ, / 
χωριστὸν TOD ὑποκειμένου σώματος. μήτρα δὲ 
\ \ “ / , b Ν a “ a 
τὸ μεταξὺ Tov ξύλου, TpLTOV ἀπὸ τοῦ φλοιοῦ οἷον 
an a / a fal 
ἐν τοῖς ὀστοῖς μυελός. καλοῦσι δέ τινες τοῦτο 


1 πλείστοις conj. Mold.; πρώτοις Ald. H. 3.1.7 5 
8. ἀπαράβλαστον conj. R.Const.; ἀπαράβλητον UMVAId. 
4 ἔτι δὲ conj. W.; ἔχον Ald. 6 Fibre. 

δ 2,6. can be split in one direction. 

7 e.g. an unripe walnut. 


20 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1. 5-6 


most ! plants the moisture has no special name, but 
in some it has such a name, as has been said 2: and 
this also holds good of animals: for it is only the 
moisture of those which have blood which has 
received a name ; wherefore we distinguish animals 
by the presence or absence of blood, calling some 
‘animals with blood,’ others ‘bloodless.’ Moisture 
then is one essential ‘ part,’ and so is warmth, which 
is closely connected with it. 

There are also other internal characters, which in 
themselves have no special name, but, because of 
their resemblance, have names analogous to those of 
the parts of animals. Thus plants have what 
corresponds to muscle; and this quasi-muscle is 
continuous, fissile, long: moreover no other growth 
starts from it either branching from the side? or 
in continuation of it. Again‘ plants have veins: 
these in other respects resemble the ‘muscle,’ ° but 
they are longer and thicker, and have side-growths 
and contain moisture. Then there are wood and 
flesh: for some plants have flesh, some wood. Wood 
is fissile,©5 while flesh can be broken up in any 
direction, like earth and things made of earth: it is 
intermediate between fibre and veins, its nature being 
clearly seen especially in the outer covering’ of 
seed-vessels. Bark and core are properly so called,§ 
yet they too must be defined. Bark then is the 
outside, and is separable from the substance which it 
covers. Core is that which forms the middle of the 
wood, being third® in order from the bark, and 
corresponding to the marrow in bones. Some call this 
part the ‘heart,’ others call it ‘heart-wood’ : some 


8 j.e. not by analogy with animals, like ‘muscle,’ ‘ veins,’ 
‘ flesh.’ ® Reckoning inclusively. 


21 


THEOPHRASTUS 


/ « ᾽ ᾽ , Μ \ Ν > ‘\ fel 
καρδίαν, οἱ δ᾽ ἐντεριώνην" ἔνιοι δὲ TO ἐντὸς τῆς 
an , e \ / 
μήτρας αὐτῆς καρδίαν, ot δὲ μυελόν. 
’ / lal 
Ta μὲν οὖν μόρια σχεδόν ἐστι τοσαῦτα. σύγ- 
a / 
κειται δὲ τὰ ὕστερον ἐκ τῶν προτέρων: ξύλον 
\ 2 “Ὁ ὃν Ae 1G “ ΝΣ / “ 
μὲν ἐξ ἰνὸς καὶ ὑγροῦ, καὶ ἔνια σαρκὸς" ξυλοῦται 
/ Φ ᾿] al / 
yap σκληρυνομένη, οἷον ἐν τοῖς φοίνιξι καὶ νάρ- 
Ν ” ” > Lal “ € a 
θηξι καὶ εἴ Te ἄλλο ἐκξυλοῦται, ὥσπερ αἱ τῶν 
€ / «7s / δὲ 2 ς “ \ / 
ῥαφανίδων ῥίζαι: μήτρα δὲ ἐξ ὑγροῦ καὶ σαρκός" 
ς / a a « 
φλοιὸς δὲ ὁ μέν τις ἐκ πάντων τῶν τριῶν, οἷον ὁ 
a ἡ / na 
τῆς δρυὸς καὶ αἰγείρου Kal ἀπίου: ὁ δὲ τῆς ap- 
la) / «ς \ a a 
πέλου ἐξ ὑγροῦ Kal ivos' ὁ δὲ τοῦ φελλοῦ ἐκ 
al / \ 
σαρκὸς Kal ὑγροῦ. πάλιν δὲ ἐκ τούτων σύνθετα 
/ A / 
Ta μέγιστα καὶ πρῶτα ῥηθέντα καθαπερανεὶ 
μέλη, πλὴν οὐκ ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν πάντα οὐδὲ ὡσαύ- 
Ν , 
τως ἀλλὰ διαφορως. 
/ a , a 
Εὐλημμένων δὲ πάντων τῶν μορίων ὡς εἰπεῖν 
/ / 
Tas τούτων διαφορὰς πειρατέον ἀποδιδόναι Kat 
ε rn / “-“ , 
τὰς ὅλων τῶν δένδρων Kal φυτῶν οὐσίας. 
/ 
Ill. "Evel δὲ συμβαίνει σαφεστέραν εἶναι τὴν 
ΤΊ i ‘ 
μαδησιν διαιρουμένων κατὰ εἴδη, καλῶς ἔχει 
τοῦτο ποιεῖν ἐφ᾽ ὧν ἐνδέχεται. πρῶτα δέ ἐστι 
\ , \ \ ΠΥ: 7, 7x \ 
καὶ μέγιστα Kal σχεδὸν ὑφ᾽ ὧν πάντ᾽ ἢ τὰ 
a / 4 / / 
πλεῖστα περιέχεται τάδε, δένδρον θάμνος φρυ- 
/ 
γανον πόα. 
\ \ / / 
Δένδρον μὲν οὖν ἐστι TO ἀπὸ ῥίζης μονοστέλεχες 


φελλοῦ conj. H.; φύλλον UVP,PAld.; φυλλοῦ Μ. 
1.6. root, stem, branch, twig: cf. 1. 1. 9. 
σαφεστέραν con). Wess ag ae Ald. 

εἴδη here = γένη ; Ch Ola ὃ τι 

πάντ᾽ ἢ conj. Sch. after a ; πάντη UMVAId. 


a ὦ ὁ Ὁ = 


22 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. π΄. 6-11. 1 


again call only the inner part ot the core itself 
the ‘heart, while others distinguish this as the 
‘marrow.’ 

Here then we have a fairly complete list of the 
‘parts, and those last named are composed of the first 
‘parts’; wood is made of fibre and sap, and in some 
eases of flesh also; for the flesh hardens and turns to 
wood, for instance in palms ferula and in other 
plants in which a turning to wood takes place, as in 
the roots of radishes. Core is made of moisture and 
flesh: bark in some cases of all three constituents, 
as in the oak black poplar and pear; while the 
bark of the vine is made of sap and fibre, and that 
of the cork-oak! of flesh and sap. Moreover out of 
these constituents are made the most important 
parts,? those which I mentioned first, and which may 
be called ‘members’: however not all of them are 
made of the same constituents, nor in the same 
proportion, but the constituents are combined in 
various ways. 

Having now, we may say, taken all the parts, we 
must endeavour to give the differences between them 
and the essential characters of trees and plants taken 
as wholes. 


Definitions of the various classes into which plants may be 
divided. 

III. Now since our study becomes more illumin- 
ating 5 if we distinguish different kinds,‘ it is well to 
follow this plan where it is possible. The first and 
most important classes, those which comprise all 
or nearly all® plants, are tree, shrub, under-shrub, 
herb. 

A tree is a thing which springs from the root with 


23 


THEOPHRASTUS 


πολύκλαδον ὀζωτὸν οὐκ εὐαπόλυτον, οἷον ἐλάα 
συκῆ ἄμπελος: θάμνος δὲ τὸ ἀπὸ ῥίζης πολύ- 
κλαδον, οἷον βάτος παλίουρος. φρύγανον δὲ τὸ 
ἀπὸ ῥίζης πολυστέλεχες καὶ πολύκλαδον οἷον 
καὶ θύμβρα καὶ πήγανον. πόα δὲ τὸ ἀπὸ ῥίζης 
φυλλοφόρον προϊὸν ἀστέλεχες, οὗ ὁ καυλὸς σπερ- 
popopos, οἷον ὁ ὁ σῖτος καὶ τὰ λάχανα. 

Δεῖ δὲ τοὺς ὅρους οὕτως “ἀποδέχεσθαι καὶ λαμ- 
βάνειν ὡς τύπῳ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ πᾶν λεγομένους" ἔνια 
γὰρ ἴσως ἐπαλλάττειν δόξειε, τὰ δὲ καὶ παρὰ τὴν 
ἀγωγὴν ἀλλοιότερα γίνεσθαι καὶ ἐκβαίνειν TIS 
φύσεως, οἷον μαλάχη τε εἰς ὕψος ἀναγομένη 
καὶ ἀποδενδρουμένη: συμβαίνει γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ 
οὐκ ἐν πολλῷ χρόνῳ ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἕξ ἢ ἑπτὰ μησὶν, 
ὥστε μῆκος καὶ πάχος δορατιαῖον γίνεσθαι, δι᾽ ὃ 
καὶ βακτηρίαις αὐταῖς χρώνται, πλείονος δὲ χρό- 
νου γινομένου κατὰ λόγον ἡ ἀπόδοσις: ὁμοίως 
δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν τεύτλων' καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα λαμβάνει 
μέγεθος" ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον ἄγνοι καὶ ὁ _Tadtoupos 
Kal ὁ KIT TOS, ὥσθ᾽ ὁμολογουμένως ταῦτα γίνεται 
δένδρα" καί τοι θαμνώδη γέ ἐστιν. ὁ δὲ βύρρινος 
μὴ ἀνακαθαιρόμενος ἐκθαμνοῦται καὶ ἡ ἡρακλεω- 
τικὴ καρύα. δοκεῖ δὲ αὕτη γε καὶ τὸν καρπὸν 
βελτίω καὶ πλείω φέρειν ἐὰν ῥάβδους τις ἐᾷ 





1 θάμνος. .. πήγανον. W.’s text transposes, without 
alteration, the definitions of θάμνο- and φρύγανον as given 
in U. φρύγανον δὲ τὸ ἀπὸ ῥίζης kal πολυστέλεχες Kal πολύκλαδον 
οἷον βάτος παλίουρος, Ald. So also M, but with a lacuna 
marked before φρύγανον and a note that the definition of 
Oduvos is wanting. φρύγανον δὲ τὸ ἀπὸ ῥίζης καὶ πολυστέλεχες 
καὶ πολύκλαδον οἷον καὶ γάμβρη καὶ πήγανον. θάμνος δὲ ἀπὸ ῥίζης 
πολύκλαδον οἷον βάτος παλίουρος U. So also very nearly Pi Ps: 
G gives to θάμνος (frutex) the definition assigned in U to 
φρύγανον (suffrutex) and the other definition is wanting. 


24 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I ut. 1-3 


a single stem, having knots and several branches, 
and it cannot easily be uprooted ; for instance, olive 
fig vine. !A shrub is a thing which rises from the 
root with many branches; for instance, bramble 
Christ’s thorn. An under-shrub is a thing which 
rises from the root with many stems as well as many 
branches; for instance, savory? rue. A herb is a 
thing which comes up from the root with its leaves 
and has no main stem, and the seed is borne on the 
stem ; for instance, corn and pot-herbs. 

These definitions however must be taken and 
accepted as applying generally and on the whole. For 
in the case of some plants it might seem that our de- 
finitions overlap; and some under cultivation appear 
to become different and depart from their essential 
nature, for instance, mallow? when it grows tall and 
becomes tree-like, For this comes to pass in no long 
time, not more than six or seven months, so that in 
length and thickness the plant becomes as great as a 
spear, and men accordingly use it as a walking-stick, 
and after a longer period the result of cultivation is 
proportionately greater. So too is it with the beets ; 
they also increase in stature under cultivation, and so 
still more do chaste-tree Christ’s thorn ivy, so that, 
as is generally admitted, these become trees, and yet 
they belong to the class of shrubs. On the other 
hand the myrtle, unless it is pruned, turns into a 
shrub, and so does filbert*: indeed this last appears 
to bear better and more abundant fruit, if one leaves 


Note that W.’s transposition gives cal... καὶ the proper 
force; § 4 shews that the typical φρύγανον in T.’s view was 
TOAVOTEAEXES. 

2 θύμβρα conj. W.; γάμβνη MSS. But the first καὶ being 
meaningless, W. also suggests σισύμβριον for καὶ γάμβρη. 

3 of. Plin. 19. 62. def. eld. obs 


25 


THEOPHRASTUS 


πλείους ὡς τῆς φύσεως θαμνώδους οὔσης. οὐ 
μονοστέλεχες δ᾽ ἂν δόξειεν οὐδ᾽ ἡ μηλέα οὐδ᾽ ἡ 
ῥοιὰ οὐδ᾽ ἡ ἄπιος εἶναι, οὐδ᾽ ὅλως ὅσα παραβλα- 
στητικὰ ἀπὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν ἀλλὰ τῇ ἀγωγῇ τοιαῦτα 
παραιρουμένων τῶν ἄλλων. ἔνια δὲ καὶ ἐῶσι 
πολυστελέχη διὰ λεπτότητα, καθάπερ ῥόαν 
μηλέαν: ἐῶσι δὲ καὶ τὰς ἐλάας κοπάδας καὶ τὰς 
συκᾶς. 

Τάχα δ᾽ ἄν τις φαίη καὶ ὅλως μεγέθει καὶ μι- 
κρότητι διαιρετέον εἶναι, τὰ δὲ ἰσχύϊ καὶ ἀσθενείᾳ 
καὶ πολυχρονιότητι καὶ ὀλιγοχρονιότητι. τῶν τε 
γὰρ φρυγανωδῶν καὶ λαχανωδῶν ἔνια μονο- 
στελέχη καὶ οἷον δένδρου φύσιν ἔχοντα γίνεται, 
καθάπερ ῥάφανος πήγανον, ὅθεν καὶ καλοῦσί 
τίνες τὰ τοιαῦτα δενδρολάχανα, τά τε λαχανώδη 
πάντα ἢ τὰ πλεῖστα ὅταν ἐγκαταμείνῃ λαμβάνει 
τινὰς ὥσπερ ἀκρεμόνας καὶ γίνεται τὸ ὅλον ἐν 
σχήματι δενδρώδει πλὴν ὀλιγοχρονιώτερα. 

Διὰ δὴ ταῦτα ὥσπερ λέγομεν οὐκ ἀκριβολογὴη- 
τέον τῷ ὅρῳ ἀλλὰ τῷ τύπῳ ληπτέον τοὺς 
ἀφορισμούς: ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰς διαιρέσεις ὁμοίως, οἷον 
ἡμέρων ἀγρίων, καρποφόρων ἀκάρπων, ἀνθοφόρων 
ἀνανθῶν, ἀειφύλλων φυλλοβόλων. τὰ μὲν yap 
ἄγρια καὶ ἥμερα παρὰ τὴν ἀγωγὴν εἶναι δοκεῖ" 
πᾶν γὰρ καὶ ἄγριον καὶ ἥμερόν φησιν Ἵππων 
γίνεσθαι τυγχάνον ἢ μὴ τυγχάνον θεραπείας. 


1 2,6. so that the tree comes to look like a shrub from the 
growth of fresh shoots after cutting. οἷ 2. 6.12; 2. 7. 2. 

2 ῥάφανος conj. Bod. from ἃ ; ῥαφανὶς Ald. 

3 cf. 3. 2. 2. The Ionian philosopher. See Zeller, Pre- 
Socratic Philosophy (Eng. trans.), 1. 281 f. 

4 καὶ add. W.; so G. 

5 ἢ conj. Sch.; καὶ UAld.Cam. Bas. H. 


26 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. πὶ. 3-5 


a good many of its branches untouched, since it is by 
nature like a shrub. Again neither the apple nor the 
pomegranate nor the pear would seem to be a tree of 
a single stem, nor indeed any of the trees which have 
side stems from the roots, but they acquire the char- 
acter of a tree when the other stems are removed. 
However some trees men even leave with their 
numerous stems because of their slenderness, for in- 
stance, the pomegranate and the apple, and they 
leave the stems of the olive and the fig cut short.! 


Exact classification impracticable: other possible bases of 
classification. 

Indeed it might be suggested that we should 
classify in some cases simply by size, and in some 
cases by comparative robustness or length of life. 
For of under-shrubs and those of the pot-herb 
class some have only one stem and come as it were 
to have the character of a tree, such as cabbage? 
and rue: wherefore some call these ‘tree-herbs’; and 
in fact all or most of the pot-herb class, when 
they have been long in the ground, acquire a sort 
of branches, and the whole plant comes to have a 
tree-like shape, though it is shorter lived than a tree. 

For these reasons then, as we are saying, one 
must not make a too precise definition ; we should 
make our definitions typical. For we must make 
our distinctions too on the same principle, as 
those between wild and cultivated plants, fruit- 
bearing and fruitless, flowering and_ flowerless, 
evergreen and deciduous. Thus the distinction 
between wild and cultivated seems to be due 
simply to cultivation, since, as Hippon?® remarks, 
any plant may be either* wild or cultivated ac- 
cording as it receives οὐ ὃ does not receive attention. 


27 


ir) 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἄκαρπα δὲ καὶ κάρπιμα καὶ ἀνθοφόρα καὶ ἀνανθὴ 
παρὰ τοὺς τόπους καὶ τὸν ἀέρα τὸν περιέχοντα" 
τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον καὶ φυλλοβόλα καὶ ἀεί- 
φυλλα. περὶ γὰρ λεφαντίνην οὐδὲ τὰς ἀμπέλους 
οὐδὲ τὰς συκᾶς φασι φυλλοβολεῖν. 
AX’ ὅμω τοιαῦτα διαιρετέον: ἔχει γάρ τι TH 
os if Ken ye ms 
φύσεως κοινὸν ὁμοίως ἐν δένδροις. καὶ θάμνοις καὶ 
τοῖς φρυγανικοῖς καὶ ποιώδεσιν" ὑπὲρ ὧν καὶ τὰς 
αἰτίας ὅταν τις λέγῃ περὶ πάντων κοινῇ δῆλον ὅ ὅτι 
λεκτέον “οὐχ ὁρίζοντα καθ᾽ ἕκαστον' εὔλογον δὲ 
καὶ ταύτας κοινὰς εἶναι πάντων. ἅμα δὲ καὶ 
φαίνεταί τινα ἔχειν φυσικὴν διαφορὰν εὐθὺς ἐ ἐπὶ 
τῶν ἀγρίων καὶ τῶν ἡμέρων, εἴπερ ἔνια μὴ δύνα- 
ται ζῆν ὥσπερ τὰ γεωργούμενα μηδ᾽ ὅλως δέχεται 
θεραπείαν ἀλλὰ χείρω γίνεται, καθάπερ ἐλάτη 
πεύκη κήλαστρον καὶ ἁπλῶς ὅ ὅσα ψυχροὺς τόπους 
φιλεῖ καὶ χιονώδεις, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τῶν φρυγανι- 
κῶν καὶ ποιωδῶν, οἷον κάππαρις καὶ θέρμος. 
ἥμερον δὲ καὶ ἄγριον δίκαιον καλεῖν ἀναφέροντα 
πρός τε ταῦτα καὶ ὅλως πρὸς τὸ ἡμερώτατον" [ὑ 
δ᾽ ἄνθρωπος ἢ μόνον ἢ μάλιστα ἥμερον. 
Ing Pavepat δὲ Kal κατ᾽ αὐτὰς τὰς μορφὰς αἱ 
διαφοραὶ τῶν ὅλων τε καὶ μορίων, οἷον λέγω 





1 ἀνθόφορα καὶ ἀνανθῆῇ conj. Sch. from G; καρπόφορα ἄνθη 
P,Ald, ΞΟ: Obs Elin, 10: 91: 

3 τοιαῦτα (600η]. W.; διαιρετέον conj. Sch.; τοῖς αὐτοῖς 
αἱρετέον Ald. The sense seems to be: Though these 

‘secondary’ distinctions are not entirely satisfactory, yet 

(if we look to the causes of different characters), they are 
indispensable, since they are due to causes which affect all 
the four classes of our ‘ primary’ distinction. 

4 ζ,6. we must take the extreme cases. 

5 7.e. plants which entirely refuse cultivation. 


28 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. ut. 5-1v. 1 


Again the distinctions between fruitless and fruit- 
bearing,! flowering and flowerless, seem to be due 
to position and the climate of the district. And 
so too with the distinction between deciduous and 
evergreen. * Thus they say that in the district of 
Elephantine neither vines nor figs lose their leaves. 

Nevertheless we are bound to use such dis- 
tinctions.2 For there is a certain common character 
alike in trees, shrubs, under-shrubs, and _ herbs. 
Wherefore, when one mentions the causes also, 
one must take account of all alike, not giving 
separate definitions for each class, it being reasonable 
to suppose that the causes too are common to all. 
And in fact there seems to be some natural difference 
from the first in the case of wild and cultivated, 
seeing that some plants cannot live under the 
conditions of those grown in cultivated ground, 
and do not submit to cultivation at all, but de- 
teriorate under it; for instance, silver-fir fir holly, 
and in general those which affect cold snowy 
country; and the same is also true of some of the 
under-shrubs and herbs, such as caper and lupin. 
Now in using the terms ‘cultivated’ and ‘ wild’ 
4 we must make these® on the one hand our standard, 
and on the other that which is in the truest sense ° 
‘cultivated. 7Now Man, if he is not the only 
thing to which this name is strictly appropriate, is at 
least that to which it most applies. 


Differences as to appearance and habitat. 
IV. Again the differences, both between the plants 
as wholes and between their parts, may be seen in 


6 ὅλως πρὸς Td. πρὸς Td ὅλως conj. St. 
78 δ᾽ ἄνθρωπος. .. ἥμερον. I have bracketed this clause, 
which seems to be an irrelevant gloss. 


29 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ / ΄ , 
μέγεθος καὶ μικρότης, σκληρότης μαλακότης, 
,ὔ ΄“ 7 ral i 
λειότης τραχύτης, φλοιοῦ φύλλων τῶν ἄλλων, 
« a by / \ ὃ / » δὲ \ 
ἁπλῶς εὐμορφία καὶ δυσμορφία τις, ἔτι δὲ Kal 
/ x / / 
καλλικαρπία Kal κακοκαρπία. πλείω μὲν yap 
a U / “ > \ 
δοκεῖ τὰ ἄγρια φέρειν, ὥσπερ ἀχρὰς κότινος, καλ- 
« \ \ 
Aiw δὲ τὰ ἥμερα Kal τοὺς χυλοὺς δὲ αὐτοὺς 
, , \ \ © a 
γλυκυτέρους καὶ ἡδίους Kal TO ὅλον ὡς εἰπεῖν 
εὐκράτους μᾶλλον. 
Φ' ΄, \ ’ “ 
Αὑταί τε δὴ φυσικαί τινες ὥσπερ εἴρηται δια- 
7 \ ἴω “ > / 
φοραΐ, καὶ ἔτι δὴ μᾶλλον τῶν ἀκάρπων Kal καρπο- 
φόρων καὶ φυλλοβόλων καὶ ἀειφύλλων καὶ ὅσα 
” = , \ ΄ δ. \ \ 
ἄλλα τοιαῦτα. πάντων δὲ ληπτέον ἀεὶ καὶ TAS 
\ / > \ 799 / 
κατὰ τοὺς τόπους: οὐ yap οὐδ᾽ οἷόν τε ἴσως 
», ς \ a / Xv , 
ἄλλως. αἱ δὲ τοιαῦται δόξαιεν ἂν γενικόν τινα 
na , - / / 
ποιεῖν χωρισμόν, οἷον ἐνύδρων Kal χερσαίων, ὥσπερ 
fal / yi 7 a nr 
ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων. ἔστι yap ἔνια τῶν φυτῶν ἃ οὐ 
Wi \ b ἷς a a ὃ / A bP ’ 
δύναται μὴ ἐν ὑγρῷ ζῆν' διήρηται δὲ ἄλλο κατ 
a a 7 \ 
ἄλλο γένος τῶν ὑγρῶν, ὥστε τὰ μὲν ἐν τέλμασι 
Φ δὲ > / \ δ᾽ > r ἣν δὲ \ ΕῚ 
τὰ δὲ ἐν λίμναις τὰ δ᾽ ἐν ποταμοῖς τὰ δὲ καὶ ἐν 
n a Vs οὐ 
αὐτῇ τῇ θαλάττῃ φύεσθαι, τὰ μὲν ἐλάττω καὶ ἐν 
A a \ / \ 
τῇ Tap ἡμῖν τὰ δὲ μείζω περὶ THY ἐρυθράν. ἔνια 
\ 
δὲ ὡσπερεὶ κάθυγρα καὶ ἕλεια, καθάπερ ἰτέα Kal 
/ \ \ ᾽ > “ὃ / rn bee) 
πλάτανος, τὰ δὲ οὐκ ἐν ὕδατι δυνάμενα ζῆν οὐδ 
“ > Ἂς , \ \ , a ’ 
ὅλως ἀλλὰ διώκοντα τοὺς ξηροὺς τόπους" τῶν ὃ 
ἃ ΤᾺ > 
ἐλαττόνων ἔστιν ἃ καὶ τοὺς αἰγιαλούς. 





κα 


1 κατ᾽ αὐτὰς τὰς conj. Sch. ; καὶ τά τ᾽ αὐτὰς τὰς [7 ; Karo 
ταύτας τὰς MVAId. 

2 πάντων... τόπους, text perhaps defective, 

3 2,6. as to locality. © Gf su, Meads 


320 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. w. 1-2 


the appearance itself! of the plant. I mean differences 
such as those in size, hardness, smoothness or their 
opposites, as seen in bark, leaves, and the other 
parts; also, in general, differences as to comeliness 
or its opposite and as to the production of good or of 
inferior fruit. For the wild kinds appear to bear 
more fruit, for instance, the wild pear and wild olive, 
but the cultivated plants better fruit, having even 
flavours which are sweeter and pleasanter and in 
general better blended, if one may so say. 

These then as has been said, are differences of 
natural character, as it were, and still more so are 
those between fruitless and fruitful, deciduous and 
evergreen plants, and the like. But with all the 
differences in all these cases we must take into 
account the locality,? and indeed it is hardly possible 
to do otherwise. Such °differences would seem to 
give us a kind of division into classes, for instance, 
between that of aquatic plants and that of plants of 
the dry land, corresponding to the division which we 
make in the case of animals. For there are some 
plants which cannot live except in wet; and again 
these are distinguished from one another by their 
fondness for different kinds of wetness ; so that some 
grow in marshes, others in lakes, others in rivers, 
others even in the sea, smaller ones in our own 
sea, larger ones in the Red Sea. Some again, one 
may say, are lovers of very wet places, or plants 
of the marshes, such as the willow and the plane. 
Others again cannot live at all® in water, but seek 
out dry places; and of the smaller sorts there are 
some that prefer the shore. 


5.2.6. though not actually living in water. 
8 οὐδ᾽ ὅλως conj. W.; ἐν τόυτοις Ald.H. Minime G. 


31 


3 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ \ 
Ov μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τουτων εἴ τις ἀκριβολο- 
A ψ ἊΝ \ vA ef \ \ -“ 
γεῖσθαι θέλοι, τὰ μὲν ἂν εὕροι κοινὰ καὶ ὥσπερ 
» / θά , ees ‘0 \ δὲ 
ἀμφίβια, καθάπερ μυρίκην itéav κλήθραν, τὰ δὲ 
a c / 
καὶ τῶν ὁμολογουμένων χερσαίων πεφυκότα ποτὲ 
a an / 
ἐν TH θαλάττῃ βιοῦν, φοίνικα oxirrav ἀνθέρικον. 
Ἂν \ “ “ ς a 
ἀλλὰ TA τοιαῦτα καὶ ὅλως TO οὕτω σκοπεῖν οὐκ 
᾽ ld > \ a IQA \ 39) 1 8 he ef 
οἰκείως ἐστὶ σκοπεῖν: οὐδὲ yap οὐδ᾽ ἡ φύσις οὕ- 
Ἵ “ \ a \ 
τως οὐδ᾽ ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις EXEL TO ἀναγκαῖον. τὰς 
δ \ , a 
μὲν οὖν διαιρέσεις Kal ὅλως τὴν ἱστορίαν τῶν φυ- 
an ie ar 
τῶν οὕτω ληπτέον. [ἅπαντα δ᾽ οὖν Kal ταῦτα καὶ 
ἈΝ Ὁ oF ΄, ” A a 
Ta ἄλλα διοισει καθάπερ εἴρηται ταῖς τε τῶν 
Ὁ “ \ tal a , a aA 
ὅλων μορφαῖς καὶ ταῖς τῶν μορίων διαφοραῖς, ἢ 
“ » \ δὲ N ” A a ἊἋ, /, \ δ᾽ 
τῷ ἔχειν τὰ δὲ μὴ ἔχειν, ἢ τῷ πλείω τὰ 
A aA fe > e , 
ἐλάττω, ἢ τῷ ἀνομοίως ἢ ὅσοι τρόποι διήρηνται 
> a \ \ ’ 
πρότερον. οἰκεῖον δὲ ἴσως καὶ τοὺς τόπους συμ- 
/ > & “ , a \ 
παραλαμβάνειν ἐν οἷς ἕκαστα πέφυκεν ἢ μὴ 
/ / / \' \ «“ \ 
πέφυκε γίνεσθαι. μεγάλη yap καὶ αὕτη διαφορὰ 
/ ω lal 
καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα οἰκεία τῶν φυτῶν διὰ TO συνηρ- 
a n an ἃ ἣν ᾽ 4 rf 
τῆσθαι TH γῇ Kal μὴ ἀπολελύσθαι καθάπερ 
τὰ ζῶα.] 
’ γ “ 
V. Ilecpatéov δ᾽ εἰπεῖν τὰς κατὰ μέρος δια- 
\ Ἃ “ ἧς al a 
φορὰς ws av καθόλου λέγοντας πρῶτον καὶ κοινῶς, 





1 θέλοι conj. Sch.; θέλει Ald. H. 

2 εὕροι conj. Sch.; εὕρη Ald. ; εὕρῃ H. 

3 Presumably as being sometimes found on the shore below 
high-water mark. 

‘G@navra... ζῶα. This passage seems not to belong 
here (W.). 

5 τρόποι conj. Sch. ; τόποι UMVAId. 


32 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. iv. 3-v. 1 


However, if one should wish! to be precise, one 
would find? that even of these some are impattial 
and as it were amphibious, such as tamarisk willow 
alder, and that others even of those which are 
admitted to be plants of the dry land sometimes live 
in the 568,5 as palm squill asphodel. But to con- 
sider all these exceptions and, in general, to consider 
in such a manner is not the right way to proceed. 
For in such matters too nature certainly does not 
thus go by any hard and fast law. Our distinctions 
therefore and the study of plants in general must be 
understood accordingly. * To return—these plants 
as well as all others will be found to differ, as has 
been said, both in the shape of the whole and 
in the differences between the parts, either as to 
having or not having certain parts, or as to having 
a greater or less number of parts, or as to having 
them differently arranged, or because of other dif- 
ferences ὃ such as we have already mentioned. And 
it is perhaps also proper to take into account the 
situation in which each plant naturally grows or 
does not grow. For this is an important distinc- 
tion, and specially characteristic of plants, because 
they are united to the ground and not free from 
it like animals. 


Characteristic differences in the parts of plants, whether 
general, special, or seen in qualities and properties. 


V. Next we must try to give the differences as 
to particular parts, in the first instance speaking 
broadly of those of a general character,® and then 


6 ¥.e. those which divide plants into large classes (e.g. 
evergreen and deciduous). 


33 


to 


THEOPHRASTUS 


εἶτα καθ᾽ ἕκαστον, ὕστερον ἐπὶ πλεῖον ὥσπερ 
ἀναθεωροῦντας. 

Ἔστι δὲ τὰ μὲν ὀρθοφυῆ καὶ μακροστελέχη 
καθάπερ ἐλάτη πεύκη κυπάριττος, τὰ δὲ σκο- 
λιώτερα καὶ βραχυστελέχη οἷον ἰτέα συκῆ ῥοιά, 
καὶ κατὰ πάχος δὲ καὶ λεπτότητα ὁμοίως. 
καὶ πάλιν τὰ μὲν μονοστελέχη τὰ δὲ πολυ- 
στελέχη" τοῦτο δὲ ταὐτὸ τρόπον τινὰ καὶ τῷ 
παραβλαστητικὰ ἢ ἀπαράβλαστα εἶναι" καὶ 
πολυκλαδῆ καὶ ὀλιγόκλαδα καθάπερ ὁ φοῖνιξ, 
καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς τούτοις ἔτι κατὰ ἰσχὺν ἢ πάχος ἢ 
τὰς τοιαύτας διαφοράς. πάλιν τὰ μὲν λεπτό- 
φλοια, καθάπερ δάφνη φίλυρα, Ta δὲ παχύφλοια, 
καθάπερ δρῦς. ἔτι τὰ μὲν λειόφλοια, καθάπερ 
μηλέα συκῆ, τὰ δὲ τραχύφλοια, καθάπερ ἀγρία 
δρῦς φελλὸς φοῖνιξ. πάντα δὲ νέα μὲν ὄντα 
λειοφλοιότερα, ἀπογηράσκοντα δὲ τραχυφλοιό- 
TEpa, ἔνια δὲ καὶ ῥηξίφλοια, καθάπερ ἄμπελος, τὰ 
δὲ καὶ ὡς περιπίπτειν, οἷον ἀνδράχλη μηλέα 
κόμαρος. ἔστι δὲ καὶ τῶν μὲν σαρκώδης ὁ ὁ φλοιός, 
οἷον φελλοῦ δρυὸς αἰγείρου" τῶν δὲ ἰνώδης καὶ 
ἄσαρκος ὁμοίως δένδρων καὶ θάμνων καὶ ἐπετείων, 
οἷον ἀμπέλου καλάμου πυροῦ. καὶ τῶν μὲν 
πολύλοπος, οἷον φιλύρας ἐλάτης ἀμπέλου λιενο- 
σπάρτου κρομύων, τῶν δὲ μονόλοπος, οἷον συκῆς 





1 2,6. taking account of differences in qualities, etc. See 
§ 4, but the order in which the three kinds of ‘ differences’ 
are discussed is not that which is here given; the second is 
taken first and resumed at 6. 1, the third begins at 5. 4, the 
first at 14. 4. 

2 ταὐτὸ conj. Sch.; αὐτὸ UMVPAId. 

8 πραχυφλοιότερα conj. H. from G; παχυφ. UMALId. 
cf. Plin. 16. 126. 


34 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. v. 1-2 


of special differences between individual kinds ; and 
after that we must take a wider range, making as it 
were a fresh survey.! 

Some plants grow straight up and have tall stems, 
as silver-fir fir cypress; some are by comparison 
crooked and have short stems, as willow fig pome- 
granate ; and there are like differences as to degree 
of thickness. Again some have a single stem, others 
many stems; and this difference corresponds? more 
or less to that between those which have side- 
growths and those which have none, or that between 
those which have many branches and those which 
have few, such as the date-palm. And in these 
very instances we have also differences in strength 
thickness and the like. Again some have thin 
bark, such as bay and lime; others have a thick 
bark, such as the oak. And again some have 
smooth bark, as apple and fig; others rough bark, 
as ‘wild oak’ (Valonia oak) cork-oak and date-palm. 
However all plants when young have smoother 
bark, which gets rougher * as they get older; and 
some have cracked bark,’ as the vine; and in some 
eases it readily drops off, as in andrachne apple ® 
and arbutus. And again of some the bark is fleshy, 
as in cork-oak oak poplar; while in others it is 
fibrous and not fleshy ; and this applies alike to trees 
shrubs and annual plants, for instance to vines 
reeds and wheat. Again in some the bark has more 
than one layer, as in lime silver-fir vine Spanish 
broom © onions’; while in some it consists of only 

4 ῥηξίφλοια conj. St.; ῥιζίφοια (ἢ Ὁ ; ῥιζίφλοια P.3 ῥιζό- 
OES Ald. οἱ 4. 15. 2, Phin. Le. 
5 μηλέα conj. H. Steph., etc.; νηλεία UMPAId.; νήλεια 


DOV pe efaliniac. 
ὩΣ appears to have read λίνου, σπάρτου. aires 5.1 0. 


35 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ A 
καλάμου aipas. κατὰ μὲν δὴ τοὺς φλοιοὺς ἐν 
e , 
τούτοις αἱ διαφοραί. 
Τῶν δὲ ξύλων αὐτῶν καὶ ὅλως τῶν καυλῶν οἱ 
Ld \ fol a 
μέν εἰσι σαρκώδεις, οἷον δρυὸς συκῆς, καὶ τῶν 
ἐλαττόνων ῥάμνου τεύτλου κωνείου" οἱ δὲ ἄσαρκοι, 
καθάπερ κέδρου λωτοῦ κυπαρίττου. καὶ οἱ μὲν 
b , \ \ fol > 7 \ a , / 
ἰνώδεις" τὰ yap τῆς ἐλάτης Kal τοῦ φοίνικος ξύλα 
τοιαῦτα" τὰ δὲ diva, καθάπερ τῆς συκῆς. ὡσαύ- 
ἣν , la \ 
τως δὲ καὶ τὰ μὲν φλεβώδη τὰ δ᾽ ἄφλεβα. περὶ 
\ \ \ \ ΄ Sey, \ ς 7 
δὲ τὰ φρυγανικὰ καὶ θαμνώδη καὶ ὅλως τὰ ὑλή- 
b) e 
pata καὶ ἄλλας τις ἂν λάβοι διαφοράς" ὁ μὲν 
\ / DO e \ Τὶ \ « 
γὰρ κάλαμος γονατῶδες, ὁ δὲ βάτος καὶ ὁ 
’ 2 , ς \ / \ » A 
παλίουρος ἀκανθώδη. ἡ δὲ τύφη Kal ἔνια τῶν 
ε , a ΄, e , ’ ΄, See a 
ἑλείων ἢ λιμναίων ὁμοίως ἀδιάφρακτα Kal ὁμαλῆ, 
΄ e rn 
καθάπερ σχοῖνος. ὁ δὲ τοῦ κυπείρου Kal βουτό- 
ἰς ’ \ 
μου καυλὸς ὁμαλότητά τινα ἔχει παρὰ τούτους" 
n lal / 
ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον ἴσως ὁ TOD μύκητος. 
- \ , 3 ® e 
Αὗται μὲν δὴ δόξαιεν ἂν ἐξ ὧν ἡ σύνθεσις. αἱ 
\ 
δὲ κατὰ Ta πάθη Kal Tas δυνάμεις οἷον σκλη- 
, / , , 
ρότης μαλακότης γλισχροτὴης κραυρότης «πυκνό- 
͵ / 4 \ 
της» μανότης κουφότης βαρύτης καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα 
nr \ / \ x 5 Ἂν A 
τοιαῦτα" ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἰτέα Kal χλωρὸν εὐσὺ κοῦφον, 
Η ἢ 
ὥσπερ ὁ φελλός, ἡ δὲ πύξος καὶ ἡ ἔβενος οὐδὲ 
\ Hi a 
αὐανθέντα. καὶ τὰ μὲν σχίζεται, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς 





1 ῥάμνου conj. W.; θάμνου P,; βαλάνου Ald. H. 

2 κωνείου conj. Sch.; κωνίου Ald.U (corrected to κωνείου). 
cfs Oy. 

3 δὲ diva conj. Sen from G.; δὲ βῖνα U; δὲ μανά Ald.; 
dé... va M. 

4 ὑλήματα conj. Sch. (a general berm including shrubs, 
under-shrubs, etc. cf. 1. 6.7; 1. 10. 6); κλήματα, Ald. 


36 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. v. 2-4 


one coat, as in fig reed darnel. Such are the 
respects in which bark differs. 

Next of the woods themselves and of stems 
generally some are fleshy, as in oak and fig, and, 
among lesser plants, in buckthorn! beet hemlock? ; 
while some are not fleshy, for instance, prickly cedar 
nettle-tree cypress. Again some are fibrous, for of 
this character is the wood of the silver-fir and the 
date-palm ; while some are not fibrous,* as in the 
fig. In like manner some are full of ‘ veins,’ others 
veinless. Further in shrubby plants and under- 
shrubs and in woody plants‘ in general one might 
find other differences: thus the reed is jointed, 
while the bramble and Christ’s thorn have thorns on 
the wood. Bulrush and some of the marsh or pond 
plants are in like manner® without joints and smooth, 
like the rush; and the stem of galingale and sedge 
has a certain smoothness beyond those just men- 
tioned; and still more perhaps has that of the 
mushroom. 


Differences as to qualities and properties. 


These then would seem to be the differences in 
the parts which make up the plant. Those which 
belong to the qualities® and properties are such as 
hardness or softness, toughness or brittleness, close- 
ness or openness of texture, lightness or heaviness, 
and the like. For willow-wood is light from the 
first, even when it is green, and so is that of the 
cork-oak ; but box and ebony are not light even 
when dried. Some woods again can be split,’ such 

5 ὁμοίως, sense doubtful ; ὁμωνύμων conj. W. 

δι wa0n, 415. 1.1: bin. 

7 σχίζεται conj. W.; σχισθέντα UMVAId.; σχιστά Η.: 
fissiles ἃ. 


37 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἐλάτης, τὰ δὲ εὔθραυστα μᾶλλον, οἷον τὰ τῆς 
γ᾽ / \ \ \ ” e \ n > fal \ \ 
ἐλάας. καὶ Ta μὲν ἄοζα, οἷον Ta τῆς ἀκτῆς, τὰ δὲ 
᾽ , e \ “- / \ / 
ὀζώδη, οἷον τὰ τῆς πεύκης καὶ ἐλάτης. 

a / al 

Δεῖ δὲ καὶ τὰς τοιαύτας ὑπολαμβάνειν «hs 
φύσεως. εὔσχιστον μὲν γὰρ ἡ ἐλάτη τῷ εὐθυ- 

a ” Ν ΡΟΝ ΄ ὃ \ \ \ \ 

πορεῖν, εὔθραυστον δὲ ἡ ἐλάα διὰ τὸ σκολιὸν καὶ 
/ ” ἮΡΕ / Ἂ Φ .6ὴ 7 

σκληρὸν. εὐκαμπτον δὲ ἡ φίλυρα καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα 

\ \ , ” \ ig , \ ee 
διὰ TO γλίσχραν ἔχειν τὴν ὑγρότητα. βαρὺ δὲ ἡ 

Ν / \ δ᾿ 45h Ψ lh ς \ lal “ 
μὲν πύξος καὶ ἡ ἔβενος ὅτι πυκνά, ἡ δὲ δρῦς ὅτι 

lal ¢ / \ \ \ 5 / \ 
γεῶδες. ὡσαύτως δὲ Kal τὰ ἄλλα πάντα πρὸς 
τὴν φύσιν πως ἀνάγεται. 

VI. Διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ ταῖς μήτραις" πρῶτον 
μὲν εἰ ἔνια ἔχει ἢ μὴ ἔχει, καθάπερ τινές φασιν 
ἄλλα τε καὶ τὴν ἀκτήν: ἔπειτα καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς 
τοῖς ἔχουσι: τῶν μὲν γάρ ἐστι σαρκώδης τῶν 
δὲ ξυλώδης τῶν δὲ ὑμενώδης. καὶ σαρκώδης 
μὲν οἷον ἀμπέλου συκῆς μηλέας ῥοιᾶς ἀκτῆς 

/ , \ ΄ > / 4 
νάρθηκος. ξυλώδης δὲ πίτυος ἐλάτης πεύκης, 

\ / “ \ Nee 53 / 
Kal μάλιστα αὕτη διὰ TO ἔνδαδος εἶναι. τούτων 
δ᾽ ἔτι σκληρότεραι καὶ πυκνότεραι κρανείας 

, a 
πρίνου δρνὸς κυτίσου συκαμίνου ἐβένου AwTOD. 

Διαφέρουσι δὲ αὐταὶ καὶ τοῖς χρώμασι: 

/ \ a ? / \ a / A a 
μέλαιναι yap THs ἐβένου Kal τῆς δρυός, ἣν καλοῦσι 
μελάνδρυον. ἅπασαι δὲ σκληρότεραι καὶ κραυρό- 


1 2.6. break across the grain. εὔθραυστα mP3 ἄθραυστα 
UPAId.; fragilis G. cf. 5. 5, Plin 16. 186. 

2 ἄρζα conj. Palm. from G ; λοξά UPAId. 

3 7.e. across the grain. OCF. ὃ: Ὁ: Ὡ; sae) Pi δὲ. LP 

δ ‘l. appears not to agree as to elder: see below. 


38 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. v. 4-νι. 2 


as that of the silver-fir, while others are rather break- 
able,! such as the wood of the olive. Again some 
are without knots,2 as the stems of elder, others 
have knots, as those of fir and silver-fir. 

Now such differences also must be ascribed to the 
essential character of the plant: for the reason why 
the wood of silver-fir is easily split is that the 
grain is straight, while the reason why olive-wood is 
easily broken? is that it is crooked and hard. Lime- 
wood and some other woods on the other hand are 
easily bent because their sap is viscid. Boxwood 
and ebony are heavy because the grain is close, and 
oak because it contains mineral matter.’ In like 
manner the other peculiarities too can in some way 
be referred to the essential character. 


Further ‘ special’ differences. 


VI. Again there are differences in the ‘core’: in 
the first place according as plants have any or have 
none, as some say © is the case with elder among other 
things; and in the second place there are differences 
between those which have it, since in different plants 
it is respectively fleshy, woody, or membranous ; 
fleshy, as in vine fig apple pomegranate elder ferula ; 
woody, as in Aleppo pine silver-fir fir; in the last- 
named? especially so, because it is resinous. Harder 
again and closer than these is the core of dog-wood 
kermes-oak oak Jaburnum mulberry ebony nettle- 
LEE. 

The cores in themselves also differ in colour; for 
that of ebony and oak is black, and in fact in 
the oak it is called ‘ oak-black’; and in all these the 
core is harder and more brittle than the ordinary 


7 αὕτη conj. Sch.; αὐτὴ UAId.; αὐτῇ MV; αὐτῆς P,. 
39 


ow 


THEOPHRASTUS 


τεραι τῶν ξύλων: δι᾿ ὃ καὶ οὐχ ὑπομένουσι 
καμπήν. μαν ότεραι δὲ αἱ μὲν αἱ δ᾽ οὔ. ὑμενώ- 
εἰς δ᾽ ἐν μὲν τοῖς δένδροις οὐκ εἰσὶν ἢ σπάνιοι, 
ἐν δὲ τοῖς θαμνώδεσι καὶ ὅλως τοῖς ὑλήμασιν 
οἷον καλάμῳ τε καὶ νάρθηκι καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις 
εἰσίν. ἔχει δὲ τὴν μήτραν τὰ μὲν μεγάλην καὶ 
φανεράν, ὡς πρῖνος δρῦς καὶ τἄλλα προειρη- 
μένα, τὰ ὃ ἀφανεστέραν, οἷον ἐλάα πύξος" οὐ 
γὰρ ἔστιν ἀφωρισμένην οὕτω λαβεῖν, ἀλλὰ καί 
φασί τινες οὐ κατὰ τὸ μέσον ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ πᾶν 
ἔχειν" ὥστε μὴ εἶναι τόπον ὡρισμένον" δι᾽ ὃ καὶ 
ἔνια οὐδ᾽ ἂν δόξειεν ὅλως ἔχειν" ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῦ 
φοίνικος οὐδεμία φαίνεται διαφορὰ Kat’ οὐδέν. 
Διαφέρουσι, δὲ καὶ ταῖς ῥίζαις. τὰ μὲν γὰρ 
πολύρριξα καὶ μακρόρριξα, καθάπερ συκῆ δρῦς 
πλάτανος" ἐὰν γὰρ ἔχωσι τόπον, ἐφ᾽ ὁσονοῦν 
προέρχονται. τὰ δὲ ὀλιγόρριζα, καθάπερ ῥοιὰ 
μηλέα: τὰ δὲ μονόρριξα, καθάπερ ἐλάτη πεύκη: 
povoppita δὲ οὕτως, ὅτι μίαν μεγάλην τὴν εἰς 
βάθος ἔ ἔχει μικρὰς δὲ ἀπὸ ταύτης πλείους. ἔ ἔχουσι 
δὲ καὶ τῶν μὴ μονορρίζων ἔνια. τὴν ἐκ τοῦ μέσου 
μεγίστην καὶ κατὰ βάθους, ὥσπερ ἀμυγδαλῆ: 
ἐλάα δὲ μικρὰν ταύτην τὰς δὲ ἄλλας μείζους καὶ 
ὡς κεκαρκινωμένας. ἔτει δὲ τῶν μὲν παχεῖαι 
μᾶλλον τῶν δὲ ἀνωμαλεῖς, καθάπερ δάφνης ἐλάας" 
τῶν δὲ πᾶσαι λεπταί, καθάπερ ἀμπέλου. δια- 
φέρουσι δὲ καὶ λειότητι καὶ τραχύτητι καὶ πυκνό- 
τητι. πάντων γὰρ αἱ ῥίζαι μανότεραι τῶν ἄνω, 





1 μανότεραι. .. οὔ: text can hardly be sound, but sense is 
clear. 2 7.e. homogeneous. = ein. 10: 127. 

4 3. 6. 4 seems to give a different account. 

5 of. C.P..3, 23.5, and xapxiumdins CLP. 1. 12.33 3. 21. 5. 


40 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. vi. 2-4 


wood ; and for this reason the core of these trees can 
not be bent. Again the core differs in closeness 
of texture. A membranous core is not common 
in trees, if indeed it is found at all; but it is found 
in shrubby plants and woody plants generally, as in 
reed ferula and the like. Again in some the core is 
large and conspicuous, as in kermes-oak oak and 
the other trees mentioned above; while in others it 
is less conspicuous, as in olive and box. For in these 
trees one cannot find it isolated, but, as some say, it 
is not found in the middle of the stem, being diffused 
throughout, so that it has no separate place; and for 
this reason some trees might be thought to have no 
core at all; in fact in the date-palm the wood is 
alike throughout.? 


Differences wn root. 


8 Again plants differ in their roots, some having 
many long roots, as fig oak plane; for the roots of 
these, if they have room, run to any length. Others 
again have few roots, as pomegranate and apple, 
others a single root, as silver-fir and fir; these have 
a single root in the sense that they have one long 
one ὅ which runs deep, and a number of small ones 
branching from this. Even in some of those which 
have more than a single root the middle root is the 
largest and goes deep, for instance, in the almond ; 
in the olive this central root is small, while the 
others are larger and, as it were, spread out crab- 
wise. Again the roots of some are mostly stout, of 
some of various degrees of stoutness, as those of 
bay and olive; and of some they are all slender, 
as those of the vine. Roots also differ in degree 
of smoothness and in density. For the roots of all 


41 


THEOPHRASTUS 


πυκνότεραι δὲ ἄλλαι ἄλλων καὶ ξυλχωδέστεραι' 
καὶ αἱ μὲν ἰνώδεις, ὡς αἱ τῆς ἐλάτης, αἱ δὲ σαρκ- 
ώδεις μᾶλλον, ὥσπερ αἱ τῆς δρυός, αἱ δὲ οἷον 
ὀξώδεις καὶ θυσανώδεις, ὥσπερ αἱ τῆς ἐλάας: 
τοῦτο δὲ ὅτι τὰς λεπτὰς καὶ μικρὰς πολλὰς 
ἔχουσι καὶ ἀθρόας: ἐπεὶ πᾶσαί γε καὶ ταύτας 
ἀποφύουσιν ἀπὸ τῶν μεγάλων ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὁμοίως 
ἀθρόας καὶ πολλάς. 

"Ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὰ μὲν βαθύρριζα, καθάπερ δρῦς, 
τὰ δ᾽ ἐπιπολαιόρριξα, καθάπερ ἐλάα ῥοιὰ μηλέα 
κυπάριττος. ἔτι δὲ αἱ μὲν εὐθεῖαι καὶ ὁμαλεῖς, 
αἱ δὲ σκολιαὶ καὶ παραλλάττουσαι" τοῦτο γὰρ 
οὐ μόνον συμβαίνει διὰ τοὺς τόπους τῷ μὴ 
εὐοδεῖν ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς φύσεως αὐτῆς ἐστιν, ὥσπερ 
ἐπὶ τῆς δάφνης καὶ τῆς ἐλάας: ἡ δὲ συκῆ καὶ τὰ 
τοιαῦτα σκολιοῦται διὰ τὸ μὴ εὐοδεῖν. 

ἽΛπασαι δ᾽ ἔμμητροι καθάπερ καὶ τὰ στελέχη 
καὶ οἱ ἀκρεμόνες" καὶ εὔλογον ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς. 
εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ αἱ μὲν παραβλαστητικαὶ εἰς τὸ ἄνω, 
καθάπερ ἀμπέλου poas, αἱ δὲ ἀπαράβλαστοι, 
καθάπερ ἐλάτης κυπαρίττου πεύκης. αἱ αὐταὶ 
δὲ διαφοραὶ καὶ τῶν φρυγανικῶν καὶ τῶν ποιωδῶν 
καὶ τῶν ἄλλων: πλὴν εἰ ὅλως ἔνια μὴ ἔχει, 
καθάπερ ὕδνον μύκης πέξις κεραύνιον. τὰ μὲν 
πολύρριξα καθάπερ πυρὸς τίφη. κριθή, πᾶν τὸ 
τοιοῦτο, καθάπερ εἰκαζούσαις" τὰ δ᾽ ὀλιγόρριξα 
καθάπερ τὰ χεδροπά. σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ τῶν Aaxav- 
ωδῶν τὰ πλεῖστα μονόρριζα, οἷον padavos 





1 πέζις κεραύνιον : πύξος κράνιον UMVAIA. ; πέζις conj. Sch. 
from Athen. 2. 59; κεραύνιον conj. W. cf. Plin. 8. 36 and 37, 
Juv. 5. 111. 2 εἰκαζούσαις : word corrupt; so UMVAIld. 

3 Plin. 19. 98. 


42 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. νι. 4-6 


plants are less dense than the parts above ground, 
but the density varies in different kinds, as also does 
the woodiness. Some are fibrous, as those of the 
silver-fir, some fleshier, as those of the oak, some are 
as it were branched and tassel-like, as those of the 
olive; and this is because they have a large number 
of fine small roots close together ; for all in fact pro- 
duce these from their large roots, but they are not 
so closely matted nor so numerous in some cases as 
in others. 

Again some plants are deep-rooting, as the oak, 
and some have surface roots, as olive pomegranate 
apple cypress. Again some roots are straight and 
uniform, others crooked and crossing one another. 
For this comes to pass not merely on account of the 
situation because they cannot find a straight course ; 
it may also belong to the natural character of the 
plant, as in the bay and the olive; while the fig and 
such like become crooked because they can not find 
a straight course. 

All roots have core, just as the stems and branches 
do, which is to be expected, as all these parts are 
made of the same materials. Some roots again have 
side-growths shooting upwards, as those of the vine 
and pomegranate, while some have no side-growth, 
as those of silver-fir cypress and fir. The same 
differences are found in under-shrubs and herbaceous 
plants and the rest, except that some have no roots 
at all, as truffle mushroom bullfist! ‘ thunder-truffle.’ 
Others have numerous roots, as wheat one-seeded 
wheat barley and all plants of like nature, for 
instance,?.... Some have few roots, as legu- 
minous plants. %And in general most of the pot- 
herbs have single roots, as cabbage beet celery 


43 


8 


THEOPHRASTUS 


τεῦτλον σέλινον λάπαθος: πλὴν ἔνια καὶ ἀπο- 
φυάδας ἔχει μεγάλας, οἷον τὸ σέλινον καὶ τὸ 
τεῦτλον" καὶ ὡς ἂν κατὰ λόγον. ταῦτα βαθυρριξζ- 
oTepa τῶν δένδρων. εἰσὶ δὲ τῶν μὲν σαρκώδεις, 
καθάπερ ῥαφανίδος γογγυλίδος ἄρου κρόκου" 
τῶν δὲ ξυλώδεις, οἷον εὐζώμου ὠκίμου' καὶ τῶν 
ἀγρίων δὲ τῶν πλείστων, ὅσων μὴ εὐθὺς πλείους 
καὶ σχιζόμεναι, καθάπερ πυροῦ κριθῆς καὶ τῆς 
καλουμένης πόας. αὕτη γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἐπετείοις καὶ 
ἐν τοῖς ποιώδεσιν ἡ διαφορὰ τῶν ῥιζῶν ὥστε τὰς 
μὲν εὐθὺς σχίζεσθαι πλείους οὔσας καὶ ὁμαλεῖς, 
τῶν δὲ ἄλλων μίαν ἢ δύο τὰς μεγίστας καὶ ἄλλας 
ἀπὸ τούτων. 

“Ὅλως δὲ πλείους αἱ διαφοραὶ τῶν ῥιζῶν ἐν 
τοῖς ὑλήμασι καὶ λαχανώδεσιν' εἰσὶ γὰρ αἱ μὲν 
ξυλώδεις, ὥσπερ αἱ τοῦ ὠκίμου: αἱ δὲ σαρκώδεις, 
ὥσπερ αἱ τοῦ τεύτλου καὶ ἔτι δὴ μᾶλλον τοῦ 
ἄρου καὶ ἀσφοδέλου καὶ κρόκου" αἱ δὲ ὥσπερ 
ἐκ φλοιοῦ καὶ σαρκός, ὥσπερ αἱ τῶν ῥαφανίδων καὶ 
γογγυλίδων' αἱ δὲ γονατώδεις, ὥ ὥσπερ αἱ τῶν καλά- 
μων καὶ ἀγρώστεων καὶ εἴ τι καλαμῶδες, καὶ “μόναι 
δὴ αὗται ἢ μάλισθ᾽ ὅμοιαι τοῖς ὑπὲρ γῆς" ὥσπερ 
γὰρ κάλαμοί εἰσιν ἐρριξωμένοι ταῖς λεπταῖς. αἱ 
δὲ λεπυρώδεις ἢ φλοιώδεις, οἷον αἵ τε τῆς σκίλλης 
καὶ τοῦ βολβοῦ καὶ ἔτι κρομύου καὶ τῶν τούτοις 
ὁμοίων. αἰεὶ γὰρ ἔστι περιαιρεῖν αὐτῶν. 

Πάντα δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα δοκεῖ καθάπερ δύο γένη 
ῥιζῶν ἔχειν: τοῖς δὲ καὶ ὅλως τὰ κεφαλοβαρῆ 
καὶ κατάρριζα πάντα' τήν τε σαρκώδη ταύτην 





1 The same term being applied to ‘herbaceous’ plants in 
general. "Plin. 19. 98. 


44 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. v1. 6-8 


monk’s rhubarb; but some have large side-roots, as 
celery and beet, and in proportion to their size these 
root deeper than trees. Again of some the roots are 
fleshy, as in radish turnip cuckoo-pint crocus; of 
some they are woody, as in rocket and basil. And 
so with most wild plants, except those whose roots 
are to start with numerous and much divided, as 
those of wheat barley and the plant specially! called 
‘grass.’ For in annual and herbaceous plants this is 
the difference between the roots:—Some are more 
numerous and uniform and much divided to start 
with, but the others have one or two specially large 
roots and others springing from them. 

To speak generally, the differences in roots are 
more numerous in shrubby plants and pot-herbs ; 
2 for some are woody, as those of basil, some fleshy, as 
those of beet, and still more those of cuckoo-pint 
asphodel and crocus; some again are made, as it 
were, of bark and flesh, as those of radishes and 
turnips; some have joints, as those of reeds and 
dog’s tooth grass and of anything of a reedy charac- 
ter ; and these roots alone, or more than any others, 
resemble the parts above ground; they are in fact 
like 38 reeds fastened in the ground by their fine roots. 
Some again have scales or a kind of bark, as those of 
squill and purse-tassels, and also of onion and things 
like these. In all these it is possible to strip oft 
a coat. 

Now all such plants, seem, as it were, to have two 
kinds of root ; and so, in the opinion of some, this is 
true generally of all plants which have a solid ‘head’ 
and send out roots from it downwards. These have, 


3 2,6. the main root is a sort of repetition of the part 
above ground. 4 2,6. bulb, corm, rhizome, etc. 


45 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Kat φλοιώδη, καθάπερ ἡ σκίλλα, καὶ τὰς ἀπὸ 
ταύτης ἀποπεφ υκυίας" οὐ γὰρ λεπτότητι καὶ παχύ- 
τητι διαφέρουσι μόνον, ὥσπερ αἱ τῶν δένδρων καὶ 
τῶν λαχάνων, ἀλλ᾽ ἀλλοῖον ἔχουσι τὸ γένος. 
ἐκφανεστάτη δ᾽ ἤδη i} τε τοῦ ἄρου καὶ ἡ τοῦ κυ- 
πείρου" ἡ μὲν γὰρ παχεῖα καὶ λεία καὶ σαρκώδης, 
ἡ δὲ λεπτὴ καὶ ἰνώδης. διόπερ ἀπορήσειεν ἄν 
τις εἰ ῥίξας τὰς τοιαύτας θετέον: ἧ ἧ μὲν γὰρ κατὰ 
γῆς δόξαιεν. ἄν, ἡ δὲ ὑπεναντίως ἔχουσι ταῖς 
ἄλλαις οὐκ ἂν δόξαιεν. ἡ μὲν γὰρ ῥίζα λεπτο- 
τέρα πρὸς τὸ πόρρω καὶ ἀεὶ σύνοξυς" ἢ δὲ τῶν 
σκιλλῶν καὶ τῶν βολβῶν καὶ τῶν ἄρων ἀνά- 
παλιν. 

"Ere δ᾽ αἱ μὲν ἄλλαι κατὰ τὸ πλάγιον ἀφιᾶσι 
εὖ e \ la nr \ A “- > 
piSas, ai δὲ τῶν σκιχλλῶν Kal τῶν βολβῶν οὐκ 
ἀφιᾶσιν" οὐδὲ τῶν ,“σκορόδων καὶ τῶν κρομύων. 
ὅλως δέ γε ἐν ταύταις αἱ κατὰ μέσον ἐκ τῆς 
κεφαλῆς ᾿ἡρτημέναι φαίνονται ῥίξαι καὶ τρέφον- 
ται. τοῦτο δ᾽ ὥσπερ κῦμα ἢ καρπός, ὅθεν καὶ οἱ 
ἐγγεοτόκα λέγοντες οὐ κακῶς" ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων 
τοιοῦτο μὲν οὐδέν ἐ ἐστιν: ἐπεὶ δὲ πλεῖον ἡ φύσις 
ἢ κατὰ ῥίζαν ταύτῃ ἀπορίαν ἔχει. τὸ γὰρ δὴ 
πᾶν “λέγειν. τὸ κατὰ γῆς ῥίζαν. οὐκ ὀρθόν" καὶ γὰρ 
ἂν ὁ καυλὸς τοῦ βολβοῦ καὶ ὁ τοῦ γηθύου καὶ 


1 τὰς conj. Sch.; τῆς ΑΙ4.Η.; τὴν... ἀποπεφυκυῖαν Ῥ. 
2 ἀλλ᾽ ἀλλοῖον ἔχουσι conj. St.; ἀλλὰ λεῖον ἔχοντες PMV 
Ald.; ἀλλοῖον ἐχ. mBas.mP from G3 ἀλλ᾽ ἀλλοῖον ἔχουσαι 


conj. Seal. Bo fi 4. (10.05; 
4 καὶ ἀεὶ Ald. ; ἀεὶ καὶ conj. W. 5 Plin. 19. 99, 
6 cf. the definition of ‘ root,’ 1. 1. 9. 
7 ἐγγεότοκα λέγοντες conj. W.; ch. ἡ τῶν ἐγ' πκοτόκων 


τούτων γένεσις in Athenaeus’ citation of this passage “2. 60) ; 


46 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. νι. 8-9 


that is to say, this fleshy or bark-like root, like squill, 
as well as the! roots which grow from this. For 
these roots not only differ in degree of stoutness, 
like those of trees and pot-herbs; they are of quite 
distinct classes.2 This is at once quite evident in 
cuckoo-pint and galingale,? the root being in the one 
case thick smooth and fleshy, in the other thin and 
fibrous. Wherefore we might question if such roots 
should be called ‘ roots’; inasmuch as they are under 
ground they would seem to be roots, but, inasmuch 
as they are of opposite character to other roots, they 
would not. For your root gets slenderer as it gets 
longer and tapers continuously * to a point; but the 
so-called root of squill purse-tassels and cuckoo-pint 
does just the opposite. 

Again, while the others send out roots at the 
sides, this is not the case® with squill and purse- 
tassels, nor yet with garlic and onion. In general 
in these plants the roots which are attached to 
the ‘head’ in the middle appear to be real roots 
and receive nourishment,® and this ‘head’ is, as 
it were, an embryo or fruit; wherefore those who 
call such plants ‘plants which reproduce them- 
selves underground’? give a fair account of them. 
In other kinds of plants there is nothing of this 
sort.§ But a difficult question is raised, since here 
the ‘root’ has a character which goes beyond what 
one associates with roots. For it is not right to call 
all that which is underground ‘root,’ since in that 
case the stalk’ of purse-tassels and that of long 
onion and in general any part which is under- 
eyteoo οισαλεΎγοντες U3 ἔν τε τοῖς ὀστοῖς ἀλέγοντες MV (omit- 
ting te) Ald. (omitting τοῖς). 

8 πριοῦτο μὲν οὐδέν conj. W.; τοῦτο μὲν MSS 

9 ἂν ὁ καυλός conj. St.; ἀνάκαυλος Ald. 

47 


10 


11 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ὅλως ὅσα κατὰ βάθους ἐστὶν εἴησαν ἂν ῥίξαι, 
καὶ τὸ ὕδνον δὲ καὶ ὃ καλοῦσί τίνες ἀσχίον καὶ 
τὸ οὔϊγγον καὶ εἴτι ἄλλο ὑπόγειόν ἐστιν: ὧν 
οὐδέν ἐστι pita: δυνάμει γὰρ δεῖ φυσικῇ διαιρεῖν 
καὶ οὐ τόπῳ. 

Τάχα δὲ τοῦτο μὲν ὀρθῶς λέγεται, pita δὲ οὐδὲν 
ἧττόν ἐστιν" ἀλλὰ διαφορά τις αὕτη τῶν ῥιζῶν, 
ὥστε τὴν μέν τινα τοιαύτην εἶναι τὴν δὲ τοιαύτην 
καὶ τρέφεσθαι τὴν ἑτέραν ὑπὸ τῆς ἑτέρας. καίτοι 
καὶ αὐταὶ αἱ σαρκώδεις ἐοίκασιν ἕλκειν. τὰς 
γοῦν τῶν ἄρων πρὸ τοῦ βλαστάνειν στρέφουσι 
καὶ γίγνονται μείξους κωλυόμεναι διαβῆναι πρὸς 
τὴν βλάστησιν. ἐπεὶ ὅτι γε πάντων τῶν τοιού- 
των ἡ φύσις ἐπὶ τὸ κάτω μᾶλλον ῥέπει φανερόν' 
οἱ μὲν γὰρ καυλοὶ καὶ ὅλως τὰ ἄνω βραχέα καὶ 
ἀσθενῆ, τὰ δὲ κάτω μεγάλα καὶ πολλὰ καὶ 
ἰσχυρὰ οὐ μόνον ἐπὶ τῶν εἰρημένων ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ 
καλάμου καὶ ἀγρώστιδος καὶ ὅλως ὅσα καλαμώδη 
καὶ τούτοις ὅμοια. καὶ ὅσα δὴ ναρθηκώδη, καὶ 
τούτων ῥίξαι μεγάλαι καὶ σαρκώδεις. 

Πολλὰ δὲ καὶ τῶν ποιωδῶν ἔ ἔχει τοιαύτας ῥίζας, 
οἷον σπάλαξ κρόκος καὶ τὸ περδίκιον καλούμενον" 
καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο παχείας τε καὶ πλείους ἔχει τὰς 
ῥίζας ἢ φύλλα: καλεῖται δὲ περδίκιον διὰ τὸ τοὺς 
πέρδικας ἐγκυλιεσθαι καὶ ὀρύττειν. ὁμοίως δὲ 





1 βάθους conj. Sch.; βάθος Ald. 

2 καὶ ὃ W. after U; καὶ om. Ald.; G omits also τὸ before 
οὔϊγγον, making the three plants synonymous. The passage 
is cited by Athen., /.c., with considerable variation. 

3 σοιαύτην Con]. St.; ; τοσαύτην MSS. 

4 ὦ, 6. the fleshy root (tuber, etc.). 


5 i.e. the fibrous root (root proper). 


48 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. vi. 9-11 


vround! would be a root, and so would the truflle, 
the plant which? some call puff-ball, the wengon, and 
all other underground plants. Whereas none of these 
is a root; for we must base our definition on natural 
function and not on position. 

However it may be that this is a true account and 
yet that such things are roots no less; but in that 
case we distinguish two different kinds of root, one 
being of this character? and the other of the other, 
and the one?* getting its nourishment from the 
other®; though the fleshy roots too themselves seem 
to draw nourishment. At all events men invert ® the 
roots of cuckoo-pint before it shoots, and so they 
become larger by being prevented from pushing‘ 
through to make a shoot. For it is evident that the 
nature of all such plants is to turn downwards for 
choice ; for the stems and the upper parts generally 
are short and weak, while the underground parts 
are large numerous and strong, and that, not only in 
the instances given, but in reeds dog’s-tooth grass 
and in general in all plants of a reedy character and 
those like them. Those too which resemble ferula ὃ 
have large fleshy roots. 

®Many herbaceous plants likewise have such roots, 
as colchicum 190. crocus and the plant called “ par- 
tridge-plant’; for this too has thick roots which are 
more numerous than its leaves. 1! (It is called the 
‘partridge-plant’ because partridges roll in it and 
grub it up.) So too with the plant called in Egypt 


6 στρέφουσι conj. Sch.; τρεφουσι MVAId.; cf. 7. 12. 2. 

7 διαβῆναι conj. W.; διαθεῖναι UMV. 

8 2,6. have a hollow stem (umbelliferous plants, more or 
less). Slane 93999: 

10 σπάλαξ UMV; ἀσπάλαξ mBas.: perhaps corrupt. 

1 Plin. 21. 102. 


49 


THEOPHRASTUS 


καὶ τὸ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καλούμενον οὔϊγγον' τὰ μὲν 
γὰρ φύλλα μεγάλα καὶ ὁ βλαστὸς αὐτοῦ βραχύς, 
ἡ δὲ ῥίζα μακρὰ καί ἐστιν ὥσπερ ὁ καρπός. 
διαφέρει τε καὶ ἐσθίεται, καὶ συλλέγουσι δὲ ὅταν 

12 ὁ ποταμὸς ἀποβῇ στρέφοντες τὰς βώλους. φανε- 
ρώτατα δὲ καὶ πλείστην ἔχοντα πρὸς τὰ ἄλλα 
διαφορὰν τὸ σίλφιον καὶ ἡ καλουμένη “μαγύδαρις" 
ἀμφοτέρων γὰρ τούτων καὶ ἁπάντων τῶν τοιούτων 
ἐν ταῖς ῥίζαις μᾶλλον ἡ φύσις. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν 
ταύτῃ ληπτέα. 

Ἔνιαι δὲ τῶν ῥιζῶν πλείω “δόξαιεν ἂν ἔχειν 
διαφορὰν παρὰ τὰς εἰρημένας" οἷον αἵ τε τῆς ἀρα- 
χίδνης καὶ τοῦ ὁμοίου τῷ ἀράκῳ' “Φέρουσι γὰρ 
ἀμφότεραι καρπὸν οὐκ ἐλάττω τοῦ ἄνω: καὶ μίαν 
μὲν ῥίξαν τὸ ἀρακῶδες τοῦτο παχεῖαν ἔχει τὴν 
κατὰ βάθους, τὰς δ᾽ ἄλλας ἐφ᾽ ὧν ὁ καρπὸς 
λεπτοτέρας καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἄκρῳ [καὶ] σχιζομένας πολ- 
ayn φιλεῖ δὲ μάλιστα χωρία τὰ ὕφαμμα' φύλ- 
λον δὲ οὐδέτερον ἔχει τούτων οὐδ᾽ ὅμοια τοῖς 
φύλλοις, ἀλλ᾽ ὥσπερ ἀμφίκαρπα μᾶλλον ἐστιν" ὃ 
καὶ φαίνεται θαυμάσιον. αἱ μὲν οὖν φύσεις 
καὶ δυνάμεις τοσαύτας ἔχουσι διαφοράς. 

VII. Αὐξάνεσθαι δὲ πάντων δοκοῦσιν αἱ ῥίζαι 
πρότερον τῶν ἄνω' καὶ γὰρ φύεται εἰς βάθος: 
οὐδεμία δὲ καθήκει πλέον ἢ ὅσον ὁ ἥλιος ἐφικνεῖ- 
ται' τὸ γὰρ θερμὸν τὸ γεννῶν: οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ 


1 οὔϊγγον mBas.H.; οὕὔϊτον MV; ουΐτον Ald.; cf. 1. 1. 7; 
Plin. 21. 88 (oetwm). 

2 μεγάλα: text doubtful (W.). 

3 διαφέρει : text doubtful (Sch.). 

4 στρέφοντες τὰς βώλους conj. Coraés; στέφυντες βωμού: 


UMVAId. 5 éy ins. Sch. 
5° 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. vi. 11-vu. 1 


wangon }; for its leaves are large? and its shoots short, 
while the root is long and is, as it were, the fruit. 
It is an excellent thing? and is eaten; men gather 
it when the river goes down by turning the clods.* 
But the plants which afford the most conspicuous 
instances and shew the greatest difference as com- 
pared with others are silphium and the plant called 
magydaris ; the character of both of these and of all 
such plants is especially shewn in® their roots. Such 
is the account to be given of these plants. 

Again some roots would seem to shew a greater 
difference ὃ than those mentioned, for instance, those 
of arakhidna,’ and of a plant® which resembles 
arakos. For both of these bear a fruit underground 
which is as large as the fruit above ground, and this 
arakos-like® plant has one thick root, namely, the 
one which runs deep, while the others which bear 
the ‘fruit’ are slenderer and branch?® in many 
directions at the tip. It is specially fond of sandy 
ground. Neither of these plants has a leaf nor 
anything resembling a leaf, but they bear, as it 
were, two kinds of fruit instead, which seems sur- 
prising. So many then are the differences shewn 
in the characters and functions of roots. 

VII. The roots of all plants seem to grow earlier 
than the parts above ground (for growth does take 
place downwards 1). But no root goes down further 
than the sun reaches, since it is the heat which 
induces growth. Nevertheless the nature of the soil, 


6 2,4. to be even more abnormal: διαφορὰν conj. Sch.; 
διαφοραὶ Ald. MP line 2189: 

8 tine-tare. See Index, App. (1). 

® ἀρακῶδες conj. Sch.; σαρκῶδες Ald.G. 

10 καὶ before σχιζ. om. Sch. from G. 

Wes ΟΡ. 12:7. (cited: by, Warro,) 1445. 3); 5. 911: 


iw 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ταῦτα μεγάλα συμβάλλεται πρὸς βαθυρριξίαν 
καὶ ἔτι “μᾶλλον πρὸς μακρορριξζίαν, ἡ τῆς χώρας 
φύσις ἐὰν ῆ κούφη καὶ μανὴ καὶ εὐδίοδος" ἐν γὰρ 
ταῖς τοιαύταις πορρωτέρω καὶ μείζους αἱ αὐξή- 
σεις. φανερὸν δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν ἡμερωμάτων: ἔχοντα 
γὰρ ὕδωρ ὁπουοῦν δίεισιν ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἐπειδὰν ὁ 
τόπος ἢ κενὸς καὶ μηδὲν τὸ ἀντιστατοῦν. ἤγουν 
ἐν τῷ Λυκείῳ ἡ πλάτανος ἡ κατὰ τὸν ὀχετὸν ἔτι 
νέα οὖσα ἐπὶ τρεῖς καὶ τριάκοντα πήχεις ἀφῆκεν 
ἔχουσα τόπον τε ἅμα. καὶ τροφή ἢν. 

Δόξειε δὲ ὡς εἰπεῖν ἡ συκῆ μακρορριζότατον 
εἶναι καὶ ὅλως δὲ μᾶλλον τὰ μανὰ καὶ εὐθύρριζα. 
πάντα δὲ τὰ νεώτερα τῶν παλαιῶν, ἐὰν εἰς ἀκμὴν 
ἥκωσιν, ἤδη βαθυρριζότερα καὶ μακρορριζότερα. 
συμφθίνουσι γὰρ καὶ αἱ ῥίξαι τῷ ἄλλῳ σώματι. 
πάντων δὲ ὁ ὁμοίως οἱ χυλοὶ τοῖς φυτοῖς δεινότεροι, 
τοῖς δὲ ὡς ἐπίπαν" δι’ ὃ καὶ ἐνίων πικραὶ ὧν οἱ 
καρποὶ γλυκεῖς: αἱ δὲ καὶ φαρμακώδεις" ἔνιαι δ᾽ 
εὐώδεις, ὥσπερ αἱ τῆς ἴριδος. 

Tota δὲ ῥίξης φύσις καὶ δύναμις ἡ τῆς Ἰνδικῆς 
συκῆς" ἀπὸ γὰρ τῶν βλαστῶν ἀφίησι, μέχρι οὗ 
ἂν συνάψῃ τῇ γῇ καὶ ῥιζωθῇ, καὶ γίνεται περὶ τὸ 
δένδρον κύκλῳ συνεχὲς τὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν οὐχ ἁπτό- 
μενον τοῦ στελέχους ἀλλ᾽ ἀφεστηκός. 





1 ταῦτα before μέγαλα om. W. 

2 ἡμερωμάτων conj. Sch.; ἡμερωτάτων UP,Ald.: cf. U.P. 
5. 61:8. 
3 ὁπουοῦν MSS. ; ὁποσονοῦν conj. W. from G, in quantwm 
libeat. 4 ἐπειδὰν conj. Sch.; ἐπεὶ κἂν UMVPAId. 

> Quoted by Varro, 1. 37. 5. 

6 ἐπὶ conj. Sch.; παρὰ P,; περὶ Ald. 

7 συμφθίνουσι : συμφωνοῦσι conj. St. 


52 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. vu. 1-3 


if it is light open and porous, contributes greatly! to 
deep rooting, and still more to the formation of long 
roots; for in such soils growth goes further and is 
more vigorous. ‘This is evident in cultivated plants.” 
For, provided that they have water, they run on, one 
may say, wherever it may be,? whenever‘ the ground 
is unoccupied and there is no obstacle. ° For instance 
the plane-tree by the watercourse in the Lyceum 
when it was still young sent out its roots a distance 
of® thirty-three cubits, having both room and 
nourishment. 

The fig would seem, one may say, to have the 
longest roots, and in general plants which have wood 
of loose texture and straight roots would seem to 
have these longer. Also young plants, provided that 
they have reached their prime, root deeper and have 
longer roots than old ones ; for the roots decay along 
with’? the rest of the plant’s body. And in all 
cases alike the juices of plants ὃ are more powerful in 
the roots than in other parts, while in some cases 
they are extremely powerful; wherefore the roots 
are bitter in some plants whose fruits are sweet ; 
some roots again are medicinal, and some are frag- 
rant, as those of the iris. 

The character and function of the roots of the 
‘Indian fig’ (banyan) are peculiar, for this plant sends 
out roots from the shoots till it has a hold on the 
ground ® and roots again ; and so there comes to be 
a continuous circle of roots round the tree, not 
connected with the main stem but at a distance 
from it. 


8 τρῖς φυτοῖς Ald.; ταῖς ῥίζαις con]. W. from G: text pro. 
hably defective. 
9 rf γῇ conj. Scal. from (ἃ ; συκῇ U; τῇ συκῇ P,Ald. 


53 


THEOPHRASTUS 


4 rn , 
Παραπλήσιον δὲ τούτῳ μᾶλλον δὲ τρόπον τινὰ 
, an / > / / 
θαυμασιώτερον εἴ τι ἐκ τῶν φύλλων ἀφίησι ῥίξαν, 
ar \ δ lal ’ὔ ΑΨ ἃ 
οἷόν φασι περὶ ᾿Οποῦντα ποιάριον εἶναι, ὃ Kai 
᾽ ’ / ᾽ ς ΄ \ \ Φ lal , 
ἐσθίεσθαί ἐστιν ἡδύ. τὸ yap αὖ τῶν θέρμων 
\ Ka “ nA > A / “ 
θαυμαστὸν ἧττον, ὅτι ἂν ἐν ὕλῃ βαθείᾳ σπαρῇ 
, \ Caf. ‘ ᾿ a \ / \ 
διείρει τὴν ῥίζαν πρὸς τὴν γῆν καὶ βλαστάνει διὰ 
Ἕ Ν \ fal a 
τὴν ἰσχύν. ἀλλὰ δὴ τὰς μὲν τῶν ῥιζῶν διαφο- 
fe 
pas ἐκ τούτων θεωρητέον. 
ra / 
VIII. Τῶν δένδρων tas τοιαύτας av τις λάβοι 
Ψ ” \ \ \ δὴ γὃ \ > ” - 
διαφοράς. ἔστι yap τὰ μὲν ὀζώδη τὰ δ᾽ ἄνοζα 
\ ΄, \ ’ \ \ a \ 2 
καὶ φύσει καὶ τόπῳ κατὰ TO μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον. 
” \ / > “ \ ” “ OA 
ἄνοζα δὲ λέγω οὐχ ὥστε μὴ ἔχειν ὅλως ---οὐδὲν 
γὰρ τοιοῦτο δένδρον, ἀλλ᾽ εἴπερ, ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων 
2 al / / Ὁ“ J \ La 
οἷον σχοῖνος τύφη κύπειρος ὅλως ἐπὶ TOV λιμνω- 
lal > ᾽ “ ? , » / \ z 
δῶν---ἀλλ᾽ ὥστε ὀλίγους ἔχειν. φύσει μὲν οἷον 
? an / 
ἀκτὴ δάφνη συκῆ ὅλως πάντα τὰ λειόφλοια Kal 
doa κοῖλα καὶ μανά. ὀζῶδες δὲ ἐλάα πεύκη 
\ / \ 
κότινος" τούτων δὲ Ta μὲν ἐν παλισκίοις Kal 
, \ > / \ \ ᾽ > / \ 
νηνέμοις καὶ ἐφύδροις, τὰ δὲ ἐν εὐηλίοις καὶ χει- 
Ἂν / lal rn 
μερίοις καὶ πνευματώδεσι καὶ λεπτοῖς καὶ ξηροῖς" 
\ \ \ > , \ S2 ᾽ Be - 
τὰ μὲν yap ἀνοζότερα, τὰ δὲ ὀξζωδέστερα τῶι 





1 7: conj. W.; τις MSS. - Plin. 9 10,4. 

3 cf. 8. 11. 8; Plin. 18. 133 and 134. 

§ διείρει conj. Sch. » διαιρεῖ P,Ald.; cf C.P. 2. 17. 7. 

5 ὕζος is the knot and the bough starting from it: cf. 
Arist. de iuv. et sen. 3. 

6 ἐπὶ τῶν conj. Coraés; ἡ τῶν UM; ἧττον (erased) P (ἐκ 
τῶν marg.) ῆττον Ald. 


54 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. νι. 3-viu. 1 


Something similar to this, but even more surprising, 
occurs in those plants which! emit roots from their 
leaves, as they say does a certain herb? which grows 
about Opus, which is also sweet to taste. The 
peculiarity again of lupins? is less surprising, namely 
that, if the seed is dropped where the ground is 
thickly overgrown, it pushes ὁ its root through to the 
earth and germinates because of its vigour. But 
we have said enough for study of the differences 
between roots. 


Of trees (principally) and their characteristic special differences: 
as to knots. 


VIII. One may take it that the following are 
the differences between trees:—Some have knots,° 
more or less, others are more or less without them, 
whether from their natural character or because of 
their position. But, when I say ‘without knots,’ | 
do not mean that they have no knots at all (there is 
no tree like that, but, if it is true of any plants, it is 
only of © other kinds, such as rush bulrush’ galingale 
and plants of the lake side 8 generally) but that they 
have few knots. Now this is the natural character 
of elder bay fig and all smooth-barked trees, and 
in general of those whose wood is hollow or of a 
loose texture. Olive fir and wild olive have knots; 
and some of these grow in thickly shaded windless 
and wet places, some in sunny positions exposed to 
storms and winds,® where the soil is light and dry; 
for the number of knots varies between trees of the 


7 τύφη conj. Bod.; τίφη UAId.H.; cf. 1. 5. 3. 
8 ἐπὶ τῶν conj. W.; εἴ τι ἐπὶ τῶν Ald. 
9 πνευματώδεσι Conj. Scal.; πυματώδεσι Us πυγματώδεσι 


ΜΝ ΑΙ, 
55 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ς a Ψ ΔῊ 5 , ΤΡ \ a 
ὁμογενῶν. ὅλως δὲ ὀξωδέστερα τὰ ὀρεινὰ τῶν 
a x \ A ’ 
πεδεινῶν καὶ τὰ ξηρὰ τῶν ἑλείων. 
Ὑ \ N \ , \ \ ΑΓ ΟὟ, 
Ετι δὲ κατὰ τὴν φυτείαν τὰ μὲν πυκνὰ ἄνοζα 
, 
Kal ὀρθά, τὰ δὲ pava ὀζωδέστερα καὶ σκολιώτερα" 
\ \ , 4 \ 
συμβαίνει yap ὥστε τὰ μὲν ἐν παλισκίῳ εἶναι TA 
Ν > > / \ \ ” \ La) Lal 
δὲ ἐν εὐηλίῳ. καὶ τὰ ἄρρενα δὲ τῶν θηλειῶν 
᾽ / » a ᾽ ” / 
ὀζωδέστερα ἐν ols ἐστιν ἄμφω, οἷον κυπάριττος 
A a u , 
ἐλάτη ὀστρυΐς κρανεία: καλοῦσι yap γένος τι 
fd x 7 an 
θηλυκρανείαν" καὶ Ta ἄγρια δὲ TOV ἡμέρων, καὶ 
fal ’ 
ἁπλῶς καὶ τὰ ὑπὸ ταὐτὸ γένος, οἷον κότινος 
‘ Qn ’; ΄ 
ἐλάας καὶ ἐρινεὸς συκῆς καὶ ἀχρὰς ἀπίου. πάντα 
γὰρ ταῦτα ὀζωδέστερα:' καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ 
\ a a \ 
πάντα τὰ πυκνὰ TOV μανῶν: Kal yap τὰ ἄρρενα 
Ud \ \ ΝΜ \ \ U 
πυκνότερα καὶ τὰ ἄγρια' πλὴν εἴ τι διὰ πυκνό- 
fal » A ? ’ὔ φ / 
TnTa παντελῶς avolov ἢ ὀλίγοζον, οἷον πύξος 
, 
λωτος. 
Εἰσὶ δὲ τῶν μὲν ἄτακτοι καὶ ὡς ἔτυχεν οἱ ὄζοι, 
τῶν δὲ τεταγμένοι καὶ τῷ διαστήματι καὶ τῷ 
᾽ / 
πλήθει καθάπερ εἴρηται: δι’ ὃ καὶ ταξιόζωτα 
lal “ a \ ” 3 a 
ταῦτα καλοῦσιν. τῶν μὲν yap οἷον δι’ ἴσου τῶν 
lal rh," Ν Ν a x‘ “ 
δὲ μεῖζον αἰεὶ τὸ πρὸς τῷ πάχει. καὶ τοῦτο κατὰ 
/ “ / Μ \ >) a / 
λόγον. ὅπερ μάλιστα ἔνδηλον Kal ἐν τοῖς κοτί- 
\ lal \ \ , 
vols καὶ ἐν τοῖς καλάμοις" τὸ γὰρ γόνυ καθάπερ 
wv \ « \ ᾽ ᾽ / ee τ nr 
ὄζος. Kal οἱ μὲν κατ᾿ ἀλλήλους, ὥσπερ οἱ τῶν 


1. Plin, 10. 125. ὙΠῸ. Bo) 
3 ταξιόζωτα conj. W.; ἀξιολογώτατα Ald.; ef. ταξίφυλλος, 
1:.10..8. 4 Plin, 10: 122. 


56 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 1. vit. 1-3 


same kind. And in general mountain trees have 
more knots than those of the plain, and those that 
grow in dry spots than those that grow in marshes. 

Again the way in which they are planted makes a 
difference in this respect ; those trees that grow close 
together are knotless and erect, those that grow far 
apart have more knots and a more crooked growth ; 
for it happens that the one class are in shade, the 
others in full sun. Again the ‘male’ trees have 
more knots than the ‘ female’ in those trees in which 
both forms are found, as cypress silver-fir hop-horn- 
beam cornelian cherry—for there is a kind called 
‘female cornelian cherry’ (cornel)—and wild trees 
have more knots than trees in cultivation: this is 
true both in general and when we compare those of 
the same kind, as the wild and cultivated forms of 
olive fig and pear. All these have more knots in the 
wild state; and in general those of closer growth 
have this character more than those of open growth ; 
for in fact the ‘male’ plants are of closer growth, 
and so are the wild ones; except that in some cases, 
as in box and nettle-tree, owing to the closer growth 
there are no knots at all, or only a few. 

1 Again the knots of some trees are irregular and 
set at haphazard, while those of others are regular, 
alike in their distance apart and in their number, as 
has been said?; wherefore also they are called ‘ trees 
with regular knots.’? 4 For of some the knots are, 
as it were, at even distances, while in others the 
distance between them is greater at the thick end of 
the stem. And this proportion holds throughout. 
This is especially evident in the wild olive and in 
reeds—in which the joint corresponds to the knot in 
trees. Again some knots are opposite one another, 


57 


THEOPHRASTUS 


κοτίνων, οἱ δ᾽ ὡς ἔτυχεν. ἔστι δὲ τὰ μὲν δίοξα, τὰ 
δὲ τρίοζα, τὰ δὲ πλείους ἔχοντα" ἔνια δὲ πεντάοζά 
ἐστι. καὶ τῆς μὲν ἐλάτης ὀρθοὶ καὶ οἱ ὄζοι καὶ οἱ 
κλάδοι ὥσπερ ἐμπεπηγότες, τῶν δὲ ἄλλων οὔ. δι᾿ 
ὃ καὶ ἰσχυρὸν ἡ ἐλάτη. ἰδιώτατοι δὲ οἱ τῆς 
μηλέας: ὅμοιοι γὰρ θηρίων προσώποις, εἷς μὲν ὁ 
μέγιστος ἄλλοι δὲ περὶ αὐτὸν μικροὶ πλείους. 
εἰσὶ δὲ τῶν ὄξων οἱ μὲν τυφλοί, οἱ δὲ γόνιμοι. 
λέγω δὲ τυφλοὺς ἀφ᾽ ὧν μηδεὶς βλαστός. οὗτοι 
δὲ καὶ φύσει καὶ πηρώσει γίνονται, ὅταν ἢ μὴ 
λυθῇ καὶ ἐκβιάξηται ἢ καὶ ἀποκοπῇ καὶ οἷον 
ἐπικαυθεὶς πηρωθῇ: γίνονται δὲ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς 
παχέσι τῶν ἀκρεμόνων, ἐνίων δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς 
στελέχεσιν. ὅλως δὲ καὶ τοῦ ᾿στελέχους καὶ τοῦ 
κλάδου καθ᾽ ὃ ἂν ἐπικόψη ἢ ἐπιτέμῃ τις, ὄξος 
γίνεται καθαπερανεὶ διαιρῶν τὸ ἕν καὶ ποιῶν 
ἑτέραν ἀρχήν, εἴτε διὰ τὴν πήρωσιν εἴτε δι’ ἄλλην 
αἰτίαν: οὐ γὰρ δὴ κατὰ φύσιν τὸ ὑπὸ τῆς 
πληγῆς. 

Αἰεὶ δὲ ἐν ἅπασιν οἱ κλάδοι φαίνονται πολυο- 
ζότεροι διὰ τὸ μήπω τἀνὰ μέσον προσηυξῆσθαι, 
καθάπερ καὶ τῆς συκῆς οἱ "νεύβλαστοι τραχύ- 
τατοι καὶ τῆς ἀμπέλου τὰ ἄκρα τῶν κλημάτων. 
ὡς γὰρ ὄζος ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις οὕτω καὶ ὀφθαλμὸς 





1 6 7.4: 19. ΞΕΡῚ 16. 1091 

3 2,6. primary and secondary branches. 

ait 2) eats be Ὁ Plint 16. ‘24: 

8 cf. Arist. de iu. et sen. 3; Plin. 16. 125. 

7 ὅταν stata πηρωθῇ conj. W. ; ἢ ὅταν ἡ μὴ λυθῇ καὶ ἐκβιάζηται 
καὶ ἣ ἀποκοπὴ καί Ὁ ; ὅταν ἣ μὴ λυθῇ καὶ ἐκβιάζηται ἢ ἀποκοπῇ 
P; ἢ ὅταν λυθῇ καὶ Ble ἢ ἀποκοπὴ καὶ οἱ οὐ Py; ὅταν ἣ 
μὴ λυθῇ καὶ ἐκβιάζηται καὶ ἢ ἀποκοπῇ καὶ Ald. H.; q differs 
widely. 


58 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. vin. 3-5 


as those of the wild olive, while others are set at 
random. Again some trees have double knots, some 
treble,! some more at the same point ; some have as 
many as five. ?In the silver-fir both the knots and 
the smaller branches? are set at right angles, as if 
they were stuck in, but in other trees they are not 
so. And that is why the silver-fir is such a strong 
tree. Most peculiar ὅ are the knots of the apple, for 
they are like the faces of wild animals; there is one 
large knot, and a number of small ones round it. 
Again some knots are blind,® others productive; by 
‘blind’ I mean those from which there is no growth. 
These come to be so either by nature or by mutilation, 
according as either the knot? is not free and so the 
shoot does not make its way out, or, a bough having 
been cut off, the place is mutilated, for example by 
burning. Such knots occur more commonly in the 
thicker boughs, and in some cases in the stem also. 
And in general, wherever one chops or cuts part of 
the stem or bough, a knot is formed, as though one 
thing were made thereby into two and a fresh 
growing point produced, the cause being the mutila- 
tion or some other such reason ; for the effect of such 
a blow cannot of course be ascribed to nature. 

Again in all trees the branches always seem to 
have more knots, because the intermediate parts § 
have not yet developed, just as the newly formed 
branches of the fig are the roughest,’ and in the 
vine the highest!° shoots. 1!(For to the knot in other 


8 2,6. the internodes ; till the branch is fully grown its 
knots are closer together, and so seem more numerous: μήπω 
Tava μέσον προσηυξῆσθαι conj. Sch.; μήπω tava μέσον προσκυ- 
ζῆθαι Ὁ ; μήτ᾽ ἀνὰ μέσον προσκυζεῖσθαι MAId.; μήποτ᾽ ἀνάμεσον 
προσηυξῆσθαι Po. 8.2.6. have most knots. 

10 ¢.e. youngest. Ms Plin. 16.7125. 


59 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἐν ἀμπελῳ και ἐν καλάμῳ γονυ . .. ἐνίοις δὲ 
καὶ οἷον κράδαι γίνονται, καθάπερ πτελέᾳ καὶ 
δρυὶ καὶ μάλιστα ἐν πλατάνῳ: ἐὰν δὲ ἐ ἐν τραχέσι 
καὶ ἀνύδροις καὶ πνευματώδεσι καὶ παντελῶς. 
πάντως δὲ πρὸς τῇ γῇ καὶ οἷον τῇ κεφαλῇ τοῦ 
στελέχους ἀπογηρασκόντων τὸ πάθος τοῦτο 
γίνεται. 

"Evia δὲ καὶ ἴσχει τοὺς καλουμένους ὑπο τινῶν 
ἢ γόγγρους ἢ τὸ ἀνάλογον, οἷον ἡ ἐλάα' κυριώ- 

\ 

τατον γὰρ ἐπὶ ταύτης τοῦτο τοὔνομα καὶ πάσχειν 
δοκεῖ μάλιστα τὸ εἰρημένον: καλοῦσι δ᾽ ἔνιοι 
τοῦτο πρέμνον οἱ δὲ κροτώνην οἱ δὲ ἄλλο ὄνομα. 
τοῖς δὲ εὐθέσι καὶ μονορρίξοις. καὶ ἀπαραβλά. 
στοις οὐ γίνεται τοῦθ᾽ ὅλως ἢ ἧττον' [φοῖνιξ δὲ 
παραβλαστητικόν"] ἡ δὲ ἐλάα καὶ ὁ κότινος 
καὶ τὰς οὐλότητας ἰδίας ἔχουσι τὰς ἐν τοῖς 
στελέχεσι. 

IX, Ἔστι μὲν οὖν τὰ μὲν ὡς εἰς μῆκος αὐξη- 
τικὰ μάλιστ᾽ ἢ μόνον, οἷον ἐλάτη φοῖνιξ κυπά- 
ριττος καὶ ὅλως τὰ μονοστελέχη καὶ ὅσα μὴ 
πολύρριξα μηδὲ πολύκλαδα' «ἡ δὲ φοῖνιξ a ἀπαρα- 
βλαστητικόν""» τὰ δὲ ὁμοῖα τούτοις ἀνὰ λόγον 
καὶ εἰς βάθος. ἔνια δ᾽ εὐθὺς σχίζεται, οἷον ἡ 





1 The opening of the description of the diseases of trees 
seems to have been lost. ~ 2 κράδαι; Ci) OY PR ake 5 Mead ge 

3 πάντως. .. γίνεται conj. W.; πάντως δὲ ὁ πρὸς TH γῇ Kal 
οἷον τ. kK. στ. ἀπογηράσκων τῶν παχυτέρων γίνεται Ald.; so U 
except παχύτερον, and M except παχύτερος-. 

4 “γόγγρους : cf. Hesych., 8.vv. γόγγρος, κροτώνη. 

5 '{he word is otherwise unknown. 

6 ἧττον: ἡ δὲ €Ada conj. W.; ἧττον: 7 δὲ φοῖνιξ πάραβλασ- 
nrixdv: ἡ δὲ ἐλάα U; so Ald. except παραβλαστικόν. The 


60 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. vin. 5-1x. 1 


trees correspond the ‘eye’ in the vine, the joint in 
the reed): sai 1 In some trees again there occurs, 
as it were, a diseased formation of small shoots,? as 
in elm oak and especially in the plane; and this is 
universal if they grow in rough waterless or windy 
spots. Apart from any such cause? this affection 
occurs near the ground in what one may call the 
‘head ’ of the trunk, when the tree is getting old. 

Some trees again have what are called by some 
‘ excrescences 6 (or something corresponding), as the 
olive ; for this name belongs most properly to that 
tree, and it seems most liable to the affection; and 
some call it ‘stump, some frotone,® others have a 
different name for it. It does not occur, or only 
occurs to a less extent, in straight young trees, which 
have a single root and no side-growths. To the 
olive® also, both wild and cultivated, are peculiar 
certain thickenings ’ in the stem. 


As to habit. 


IX. 8 Now those trees which grow chiefly or only 9 
in the direction of their height are such as silver-fir 
date-palm cypress, and in general those which have 
a single stem and not many roots or branches (the 
date-palm, it may be added, has no side-growths at 
all1°). And trees like! these have also similar growth 
downwards. Some however divide from the first, 


note about the palm (φοῖνιξ δὲ παραβλαστητικόν) I have omitted 
as untrue as well as irrelevant ; possibly with ἀπαραβα. for 
mapa8a. it belongs to the next section. 

7 οὐλότητας conj. W.; κοιλότητας MSS. (2?) Ald. 

5. Plin. 10. 125: 

9 μάλιστ᾽ ἢ μόνον conj. W.; μάλιστα μανὰ Ald. H. 

10 See 3. 8. 6. n. 

1 ὅμοια conj. Sch.; duofws MSS. Sense hardly satisfactory. 


61 


THEOPHRASTUS 


μηλέα: τὰ δὲ πολύκλαδα Kal μείζω τὸν ὄγκον 
ἔχει τὸν ἄνω, καθάπερ poa: ov μὴν ἀλλ᾽ οὗν 
μέγιστά γε συμβάλλεται πρὸς ἕκαστον n ἀγωγὴ 
καὶ ὁ τόπος καὶ ἡ τροφή. σημεῖον δ᾽ ὅτι ταὐτὰ 
πυκνὰ μὲν ὄντα μακρὰ καὶ λεπτὰ γίνεται, μανὰ 
δὲ παχύτερα καὶ βραχύτερα: καὶ ἐὰν μὲν εὐθύς 
τις ἀφιῇ τοὺς ὄζους βραχέα, ἐὰν δὲ ἀνακαθαίρῃ 
μακρά, καθάπερ ἡ ἄμπελος. 

Ἱκανὸν δὲ κἀκεῖνο πρὸς πίστιν ὅτι καὶ τῶν 
λαχάνων ἔνια λαμβάνει δένδρου σχῆμα, καθάπερ 
εἴπομεν. τὴν μαλάχην καὶ τὸ τεῦτλον" ἅπαντα 
δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις τόποις εὐαυξῆ. . . KAL TO αὐτὸ 
κάλλιστον. ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν ὁμογενῶν ἀνοζότερα 
καὶ μείζω καὶ καλλίω τὰ ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις, οἷον 
ἐλάτη ἡ Μακεδονικὴ τῆς ἸΠαρνασίας καὶ τῶν ἄλ- 
λων. ἅπαντα δὲ ταῦτα καὶ ὅλως ἡ ὕλη ἡ ἀγρία 
καλλίων καὶ πλείων τοῦ ὄρους ἐν τοῖς προσβο- 
ρείοις ἢ ἐν τοῖς πρὸς μεσημβρίαν. 

Ἔστι δὲ τὰ μὲν ἀείφυλλα τὰ δὲ φυλλο- 
βόλα. τῶν μὲν ἡμέρων ἀείφυλλα ἐλάα φοῖνιξ 
δάφνη “μύρρινος πεύκης TL γένος κυπάριττος" τῶν 
: ἀγρίων ἐλάτη πεύκη ἄρκευθος piros θυία καὶ 

ν ᾿Αρκάδες καλοῦσι φελλόδρυν φιλυρέα κέδρος 
a ἀγρία μυρίκη πύξος πρῖνος κήλαστρον 
φιλύκη ὀξυάκανθος ἀφάρκη, ταῦτα δὲ φύεται 
περὶ τὸν Ὄλυμπον, ἀνδράνλη κόμαρος τέρμινθος 





1 οὖν marked as doubtful in U. ἘΠῚ 3.92, 

3 καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κάλλιστον. The first part of the sentence to 
which these words belong is apparently lost (W.). 

4 i.e, the fir and other trees mentioned in the lost words. 

5 Plin. 16. 80. 

6 μίλος con}. Sch.; σμίλαξ P,Ald.; ef. 3. 3. ὃ. 


62 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 1. rx. 1-3 


such as apple; some have many branches, and thei: 
greater mass of growth high up, as the pomegranate : 
however! training position and cultivation chiefly 
contribute to all of these characters. In proof of 
which we have the fact that the same trees which, 
when growing close together, are tall and slender, 
when grown farther apart become stouter and 
shorter; and if we from the first let the branches 
grow freely, the tree becomes short, whereas, if we 
prune them, it becomes tall,—-for instance, the vine. 

This too is enough for proof that even some pot- 
herbs acquire the form of a tree, as we said? of 
mallow and beet. Indeed all things grow well in 
congenial places... .2 For even among those of the 
same kind those which grow in congenial places have 
less knots, and are taller and more comely: thus the 
silver-fir in Macedon is superior to other silver-firs, 
such as that of Parnassus. Not only is this true of 
all these, but in general the wild woodland is more 
beautiful and vigorous on the north side of the 
mountain than on the south. 


As to shedding of leaves. 


Again some ® trees are evergreen, some deciduous. 
Of cultivated trees, olive date-palm bay myrtle a 
kind of fir and cypress are evergreen, and among 
wild trees silver-fir fir Phoenician cedar yew ® odorous 
cedar the tree which the Arcadians call ‘ cork-oak ’ 
(holm-oak) mock-privet prickly cedar ‘wild’ pine’ 
tamarisk box kermes-oak holly alaternus cotoneaster 
hybrid arbutus® (all of which grow about Olympus) 


7 ἀγρία after πίτυς conj. Sch.; after πρῖνος UPAId.: ef. 
3. 3. 3. 
8 κόμαρος conj. Bod.; civapos UMV; otvapos Ald.; σύναρος P,. 


63 


THEOPHRASTUS 


A > ΄ 
ἀγρία δάφνη. δοκεῖ δ᾽ ἡ ἀνδράχλη καὶ ὁ κόμαρος 
\ \ / a \ \ » al 
Ta μὲν κάτω φυλλοβολεῖν ta δὲ ἔσχατα τῶν 
» / eee ” > / \ ΨῈΝ \ 
ἀκρεμόνων ἀείφυλλα ἔχειν, ἐπιφύειν δὲ ἀεὶ τοὺς 
ἀκρεμόνας. 
Τῶν μὲν οὖν δένδρων ταῦτα. τῶν δὲ θαμνω- 
a \ 
δῶν KiTTOs βάτος ῥάμνος κάλαμος κεδρίς" ἔστι 
a a lal cal 
γάρ τι μικρὸν ὃ οὐ δενδροῦται. τῶν δὲ φρυγανικῶν 
καὶ ποιωδῶν πήγανον ῥάφανος ῥοδωνία ἰωνία 
> , 5) 7 “ ἌΝ , 
ἀβρότονον ἀμάρακον ἕρπυλλος ὀρίγανον σέλινον 
ἱπποσέλινον μήκων καὶ τῶν ἀγρίων εἴδη πλείω. 
διαμένει δὲ καὶ τούτων ἔνια τοῖς ἄκροις τὰ δὲ 
ἄλλα ἀποβάλλει οἷον ὀρίγανον σέλινον. .. ἐπεὶ 
καὶ τὸ πήγανον κακοῦται καὶ ἀλλάττεται. 
Πάντα δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τὰ ἀείφυλλα στενο- 
/ , 
φυλλότερα καὶ ἔχοντά τινα λιπαρότητα καὶ 
2 5) a 
εὐωδίαν. ἔνια δ᾽ οὐκ ὄντα τῇ φύσει Tapa τὸν 
/ lal 
τόπον ἐστὶν ἀείφυλλα, καθάπερ ἐλέχθη περὶ τῶν 
> 9 , Longs : 7 » 9 n 
ev Ἐλεφαντίνῃ καὶ Μέμφει κατωτέρω δ᾽ ἐν τῷ 
Qn \ ‘ 
Δέλτα μικρὸν πάνυ χρόνον διαλείπει τοῦ μὴ ἀεὶ 
/ > 4 M / / , 
βλαστάνειν. ἐν Κρήτῃ δὲ λέγεται πλάτανόν 
a Ψ \ a 
τινα εἶναι ἐν TH Voptuvaia πρὸς πηγῇ τινι ἣ οὐ 
φυλλοβολεῖ: μυθολογοῦσι δὲ ὡς ὑπὸ ταύτῃ 
SF = ae ς , \ \ , , 3 
ἐμίγη τῇ Εὐρώπῃ ὁ Ζεύς: tas δὲ πλησίας πάσας 
lad \ a 
φυλλοβολεῖν. ἐν δὲ Συβάρει δρῦς ἐστιν ev- 
lol “ ἃ a ‘ 
σύνοπτος ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἣ οὐ φυλλοβολεῖ: φασὶ 





1 Plin. 16. 80. 

2 Some words probably missing (W.) which would explain 
the next two clauses. 8 Plin. 16. 82. 5. Ὁ: 

& Phins 32, bl; Varro, ΙΝ ἧς 


64 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1x. 3-5 


andrachne arbutus terebinth ‘wild bay’ (oleander). 
Andrachne and arbutus seem to cast their lower 
leaves, but to keep those at the end of the twigs 
perennially, and to be always adding leafy twigs. 
These are the trees which are evergreen. 

1 Of shrubby plants these are evergreen :—ivy 
bramble buckthorn reed εάν (juniper)—for there 
is a small kind of kedros so called which does not 
grow into a tree. Among under-shrubs and herba- 
ceous plants there are rue cabbage rose gilliflower 
southernwood sweet marjoram tufted thyme mar- 
joram celery alexanders poppy, and a good many 
more kinds of wild plants However some of these 
too, while evergreen as to their top growths, shed 
their other leaves, as marjoram andcelery ..... 2 
for rue too is injuriously affected and changes its 
character. 

3 And all the evergreen plants in the other classes 
too have narrower leaves and a certain glossiness and 
fragrance. Some moreover which are not evergreen 
by nature become so because of their position, as 
was 5814 4 about the plants at Elephantine and 
Memphis, while lower down the Nile in the Delta 
there is but a very short period in which they are not 
making new leaves. It is said that in Crete in the 
district of Gortyna there is a plane near a certain 
spring ® which does not lose its leaves; (indeed the 
story is that it was under’ this tree that Zeus lay 
with Europa), while all the other plants in the 
neighbourhood shed theirleaves. ὃ At Sybaris there 
is an oak within sight of the city which does not shed 


ὃ πηγῇ conj. H. from G ; σκηνῇ UMVAId.; κηνῆ Pa; κρηνῇ 
m Bas. 
7 ὑπὸ conj. Hemsterhuis ; ἐπὶ Ald. 56 Β11π| 10 81. 


65 


THEOPHRASTUS 


δὲ οὐ βλαστάνειν αὐτὴν ἅμα ταῖς ἄλλαις ἀλλὰ 
μετὰ Κύνα. λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἐν Κύπρῳ πλάτανος 
εἶναι τοιαύτη. 
Φυλλοβολεῖ δὲ πάντα τοῦ μετοπώρου καὶ μετὰ 
Ν Α͂ \ \ \ an \ \ / 
TO μετόπωρον, πλὴν TO μὲν θᾶττον τὸ δὲ βραδύ- 
τερον ὥστε καὶ τοῦ χειμῶνος ἐπιλαμβάνειν. οὐκ 
e , lal 
ἀνάλογοι δὲ αἱ φυλλοβολίαι ταῖς βλαστήσεσιν, 
Lé , 
ὥστε Ta πρότερον βλαστήσαντα πρότερον φυλ- 
a ᾽ , “" n 
λοβολεῖν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔνια πρωϊβλαστεῖ μὲν οὐδὲν δὲ 
n n Μ > / A ¢€ a 
TPOTEPEL τῶν ἄλλων, ἀλλὰ τινων καὶ VOTEPEL, 
Ly a eae J n 
καθάπερ ἡ ἀμυγδαλῆ. 
Ἂς a a 
Ta δὲ ὀψιβλαστεῖ μὲν οὐδὲν δὲ ὡς εἰπεῖν 
ς a a " σ΄ ς ΄ n \ 
ὑστερεῖ τῶν ἄλλων, ὥσπερ ἡ συκάμινος. δοκεῖ δὲ 
AAS ΄ 4 ΠῚ ΄ Εἴ ἂν 
καὶ ἡ χώρα συμβάλλεσθαι καὶ ὁ τόπος ὁ ἔνικμος 
\ tal a 
πρὸς TO διαμένειν. τὰ yap ἐν τοῖς ξηροῖς καὶ 
¢ / a 
ὅλως λεπτογείοις πρότερα φυλλοβολεῖ Kal τὰ 
πρεσβύτερα δὲ τῶν νέων. ἔνια δὲ καὶ πρὸ τοῦ 
πεπᾶναι τὸν καρπὸν ἀποβάλλει τὰ φύλλα, καθά- 
περ αἱ ὄψιαι συκαῖ καὶ ἀχράδες. 
fal > 
Τῶν δ᾽ ἀειφύλλων ἡ ἀποβολὴ Kal ἡ αὔανσις 
\ / ’ \ \ > ἊΝ pee / 2 \ 
κατὰ μέρος" οὐ yap δὴ ταὐτὰ αἰεὶ διαμένει, ἀλλὰ 
Ν \ >! / \ ’ > ΄ “ 
τὰ μὲν ἐπιβλαστάνει τὰ δ᾽ ἀφαναίνεται. τοῦτο 
δὲ περὶ τροπὰς μάλιστα γίνεται θερινάς. εἰ δέ 
\ a. 3 a x \ 9ὲ a “ 
τίνων καὶ μετ᾽ ᾿Αρκτοῦρον ἢ καὶ KAT ἄλλην ὡραν 
ΑἹ / \ \ \ \ \ 
ἐπισκεπτέον. καὶ τὰ μὲν περὶ τὴν φυλλο- 
βολίαν οὕτως ἔχει. 
1 Plin. 16. 82 and 83. 
66 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. 1x. 5-7 


its leaves, and they say that it does not come into 
leaf along with the others, but only after the rising 
of the dog-star. It is said that in Cyprus too there 
is a plane which has the same peculiarity. 

1 The fall of the leaves in all cases takes place in 
autumn or later, but it occurs later in some trees 
than in others, and even extends into the winter. 
However the fall of the leaf does not correspond to 
the growth of new leaves (in which case those that 
come into leaf earlier would lose their leaves earlier), 
but some (such as the almond) which are early in 
coming into leaf are not earlier than the rest in 
losing their leaves, but are even comparatively 
late.? 

3 Others again, such as the mulberry, come into 
leaf late, but are hardly at ail later than the others 
in shedding their leaves. It appears also that position 
and a moist situation conduce to keeping the leaves 
late; for those which grow in dry places, and in 
general where the soil is light, shed their leaves 
earlier, and the older trees earlier than young ones. 
Some even cast their leaves before the fruit is ripe, 
as the late kinds of fig and pear. 

In those which are evergreen the shedding and 
withering of leaves take place by degrees; for it is 
not the same? leaves which always persist, but fresh 
ones are growing while the old ones wither away. 
This happens chiefly about the summer solstice. 
Whether in some cases it occurs even after the rising 
of Arcturus or at a quite different season is matter for 
enquiry. So much for the shedding of leaves. 


2 ὑστερεῖ conj. H.; ὕστερον UMVPAId. 
3 Plin. 16. 84. 
4 ταὐτὰ conj. Sch.; ταῦτα Ald. 


67 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Ta δὲ φύλλα τῶν μὲν ἄλλων δένδρων ὅμοια 
\ aA iol an 
πάντων αὐτὰ ἑαυτοῖς, τῆς δὲ λεύκης Kal τοῦ 
ἴω a / , > ᾿ς 
κιττοῦ καὶ τοῦ καλουμένου κρότωνος ἀνόμοια καὶ 
΄ \ \ \ / a \ 
ἑτεροσχήμονα" τὰ μὲν yap νέα περιφερῆ τὰ δὲ 
, a n 
παλαιότερα γωνοειδῆ, Kal εἰς τοῦτο ἡ μετάστασις 
πάντων. τοῦ δὲ κιττοῦ ἀνάπαλιν νέου μὲν ὄντος 
/ \ 
ἐγγωνιώτερα πρεσβυτέρου δὲ περιφερέστερα: μετα- 
/ \ \ 2 wv \ \ μι δὲ ἂν Ὁ \ 
βάλλει yap καὶ οὗτος. ἴδιον δὲ καὶ τὸ τῇ ἐλάᾳ Kal 
a / \ A / \ a 4 ΕΣ 
τῇ φιλύρᾳ καὶ τῇ πτελέᾳ καὶ τῇ λεύκῃ συμβαῖνον' 
, a Net ἴῷ 
στρέφειν yap δοκοῦσιν τὰ ὕπτια μετὰ τροπὰς θερι- 
, τ 
vas, καὶ τούτῳ γνωρίζουσιν ὅτι γεγένηνται τροπαί. 
/ Ni \ / / \ Ne cee \ \ 
πάντα δὲ τὰ φύλλα διαφέρει κατὰ τὰ ὕπτια καὶ TA 
an x “ \ / Ne 
πρανῆ. καὶ TOV μὲν ἄλλων τὰ ὕπτια ποιωδέστερα 
\ / \ \ a \ \ / ? 
καὶ λειότερα: τὰς yap ἶνας καὶ Tas φλέβας ἐν 
“ , / 
τοῖς πρανέσιν ἔχουσιν, ὥσπερ ἡ χεὶρ «τὰ apOpa>- 
a 7 / , e a 
τῆς © ἐλάας λευκότερα καὶ ἧττον λεῖα ἐνίοτε 
\ tal) a 
καὶ τὰ ὕπτια. πάντα δὴ ἢ Ta γε πλεῖστα ἐκφανῆ 
ἔχει τὰ ὕπτια καὶ ταῦτα γίνεται τῷ ἡλίῳ φανερά. 
\ \ « 
καὶ στρέφεται TA πολλὰ πρὸς TOV ἥλιον" δι᾽ ὃ Kal 
> lal ς ΄ \ an n na 
οὐ ῥάδιον εἰπεῖν ὁπότερον πρὸς τῷ κλῶνι μᾶλλόν 
\ \ δ / a a a 
ἐστιν: ἡ μὲν γὰρ ὑπτιότης μᾶλλον δοκεῖ ποιεῖν TO 
/ «ς Ν , bd δ vd Ἀν τὸ 
πρανές, ἡ δὲ φύσις οὐχ ἧττον βούλεται τὸ ὕπτιον, 
\ 
ἄλλως TE καὶ ἡ ἀνάκλασις διὰ TOV ἥλιον: ἴδοι δ᾽ 





? Ph. 10. 80. 

2 καὶ τοῦ κιττοῦ καὶ τοῦ MSS. cf. Plin. l.c.; Diose. 4. 164. 
καὶ τοῦ κικίου τοῦ καὶ conj. W.; Galen, Lex. Hipp., gives 
κίκιον aS a name for the root of κρότων. cf. C.P. 2. 16. 4. 

3. 2.6. ποῦ ‘entire.’ ‘Young leaves’=leaves of the young tree. 

4 This seems to contradict what has just been said. 

5 τὰ ἄρθρα add. Sch. from Plin. 16. 88, inciswras. ef. Arist. 
H.A. 1. 15, where Plin, (11. 274) renders ἄρθρα incisuras. 


68 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. x. 1-2 


Differences in leaves, 


X. 1 Now, while the leaves of all other trees are 
all alike in each tree, those of the abele ivy? and 
of the plant called sroton (castor-oil plant) are 
unlike one another and of different forms. The 
young leaves in these are round, the old ones 
angular,? and eventually all the leaves assume that 
form. On the other hand? in the ivy, when it is 
young, the leaves are somewhat angular, but when 
it is older, they become rounder: for in this plant 
too a change of form takes place. There is a 
peculiarity special to the olive lime elm and abele: 
their leaves appear to invert the upper surface after 
the summer solstice, and by this men know that the 
solstice is past. Now all leaves differ as to their 
upper and under surfaces; and in most trees the 
upper surfaces are greener and smoother, as they 
have the fibres and veins in the under surfaces, even 
as the human hand has its ‘lines,’ but even the upper 
surface of the leaf of the olive is sometimes whiter 
and less smooth.® So all or most leaves display 
their upper surfaces, and it is these surfaces which 
are exposed to the light.” Again most leaves turn 
towards the sun; wherefore also it is not easy to say 
which surface is next to the twig’; for, while the 
way in which the upper surface is presented seems 
rather to make the under surface closer to it, yet 
nature desires equally that the upper surface should 
be the nearer, and this is specially seen in the 
turning back® of the leaf towards the sun. One 


8 ἐνίοτε καὶ τὰ ὕπτια conj. W.; λεῖα δὲ καὶ τὰ τοῦ κιττοῦ 
MSS. A makeshift correction of an obscure passage. 

© of.selinwt<c: 8 2,6. is the under one. 

® Whereby the under surface is exposed to it: see above. 


69 


ὡ» 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἄν τις ὅσα πυκνὰ καὶ κατ᾽ ἄλληλα, καθάπερ τὰ 
τῶν μυρρίνων. 

Οἴονται δέ τινες καὶ τὴν τροφὴν τῷ ὑπτίῳ διὰ 
τοῦ πρανοῦς εἶναι, διὰ τὸ ἔνικμον ἀεὶ τοῦτο καὶ 
χνοῶδες εἶναι, οὐ καλῶς λέγοντες. ἀλλὰ τοῦτο 
μὲν ἴσως συμβαίνει χωρὶς τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως καὶ 
διὰ τὸ μὴ ὁμοίως ἡλιοῦσθαι, ἡ ἡ δὲ τροφὴ διὰ τῶν 
φλεβῶν ἢ ἢ ἰνῶν ὁμοίως ἀμφοτέροις" ἐκ θατέρου δ᾽ 
εἰς θάτερον οὐκ εὔλογον μὴ ἔχουσι πόρους μηδὲ 
βάθος δι’ ov: ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τροφῆς διὰ τίνων 
ἕτερος λόγος. 

Διαφέρουσι. δὲ καὶ τὰ φύλλα πλείοσι δια- 
φοραῖς" τὰ μὲν γάρ ἐστι πλατύφυλλα, καθάπερ 
ἄμπελος συκῆ πλάτανος, τὰ δὲ στενόφυλλα, 
καθάπερ ἐλάα ῥόα μύρρινος: τὰ δ᾽ ὥσπερ ἀκανθό- 
φυλλα, καθάπερ “πεύκη πίτυς κέδρος" τὰ δ᾽ οἷον 
σαρκόφυλλα: τοῦτο δ᾽ ὅτι σαρκῶδες ἔχουσι τὸ 
φύλλον, οἷον κυπάριττος μυρίκη μηλέα, τῶν δὲ 
φρυγανικῶν κνέωρος στοιβὴ καὶ ποιωδῶν ἀείζωον 
πόλιον: [τοῦτο δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς σῆτας τοὺς ἐν 
τοῖς ἱματίοις ἀγαθόν"] τὰ γὰρ αὖ τῶν τευτλίων 
ἢ ῥαφάνων ἄλλον τρόπον σαρκώδη. καὶ τὰ τῶν 
πηγανίων καλουμένων" ἐν πλάτει γὰρ καὶ οὐκ ἐν 
στρογγυλότητι τὸ σαρκῶδες. καὶ τῶν θαμνωδῶν 
δὲ ἡ μυρίκη σαρκῶδες τὸ φύλλον ἔχει. ἔνια δὲ 





1. 8. 35 W083 Plin. 16. 92: 
ἐκ θατέρου δ᾽ εἰς con): Sch. from G; δὲ ἐκ θατέρου εἰς with 
stop αὖ ἰνῶν Ald. 3 δι’ οὗ I conj.; δύ ὧν U. 

4 ἀκανθόφυλλα conj. W.; σπανόφυλλα UMAIA.; ἀνόφυλλα 
P,; ef. 3. 9. 5, whence Sch. conj. τριχόφυλλα : Plin. l.c. has 
capillate pino cedro. 

5 μηλέα probably corrupt ; omitted by Plin. /.c. 


70 


ENQUIRY UNTO PLANTS, 1. x. 2-5 


may observe this in trees whose leaves are crowded 
and opposite,! such as those of myrtle. 

Some think that the nourishment too is conveyed to 
the upper surface through the under surface, because 
this surface always contains moisture and is downy, 
but they are mistaken. It may be that this is not 
due to the trees’ special character, but to their not 
getting an equal amount of sunshine, though the 
nourishment conveyed through the veins or fibres 
is the same in both cases. That it should be con- 
veyed from one side to the other? is improbable, 
when there are no passages for it nor thickness for it 
to pass through.? However it belongs to another 
part of the enquiry to discuss the means by which 
nourishment is conveyed. 

Again there are various other differences between 
leaves; some trees are broad-leaved, as vine fig and 
plane, some narrow-leaved, as olive pomegranate 
myrtle. Some have, as it were, spinous‘ leaves, 
as fir Aleppo pine prickly cedar; some, as it were, 
fleshy leaves; and this is because their leaves are of 
fleshy substance, as cypress tamarisk apple,> among 
under-shrubs f‘neoros and stoibe, and among herba- 
ceous plants house-leek and hulwort. © This plant 
is good against moth in clothes. For the leaves of 
beet and cabbage are fleshy in another way, as are 
those of the various plants called rue ; for their fleshy 
character is seen in the flat instead of in the round.’ 
Among shrubby plants the tamarisk® has fleshy 

5 Probably a gloss. 

7 Or ‘solid,’ such leaves being regarded as having, so to 
speak, three, and not two dimensions. στρόγγυλος = ‘ thick- 
set,’ in Arist. HA. 9. 44. 


8 μυρίκη probably corrupt ; μ. was mentioned just above, 
among trees; ἐρείκη conj. Dalec. 


ΠῚ 


THEOPHRASTUS 


καὶ καλαμόφυλλα, καθάπερ ὁ φοῖνιξ καὶ ὁ κὀὶϊξ 
καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα: ταῦτα δὲ ὡς καθ᾽ ὅλου εἰπεῖν 
γωνιόφυλλα: καὶ γὰρ ὁ κάλαμος καὶ ὁ κύπειρος 
καὶ ὁ βούτομος καὶ τἄλλα δὲ τῶν λιμνωδῶν 
τοιαῦτα: πάντα δὲ ὥσπερ ἐκ δυοῖν σύνθετα καὶ 
τὸ μέσον οἷον τρόπις, οὗ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις μέγας 
πόρος ὁ μέσος. διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ τοῖς σχήμασι: 
τὰ μὲν γὰρ περιφερῆ, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς ἀπίου, τὰ 
é προμηκέστερα, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς μηλέας" τὰ δὲ 
εἰς ὀξὺ προήκοντα καὶ παρακανθίξζοντα, καθάπερ 
Ta τοῦ μίλακος. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἄσχιστα" «τὰ δὲ 
σχιστὰξ- καὶ οἷον πριονώδη, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς 
ἐλάτης καὶ τὰ τῆς πτερίδος: τρόπον δέ τινα 
σχιστὰ καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀμπέλου, καὶ τὰ τῆς συκῆς 
δὲ ὥσπερ ἂν εἴποι τις κορωνοποδώδη. ἔνια δὲ 
καὶ ἐντομὰς ἔχοντα, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς πτελέας καὶ 
τὰ τῆς Ἡρακλεωτικῆς καὶ τὰ τῆς δρυός. τὰ δὲ 
καὶ παρακανθίζοντα καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἄκρου καὶ ἐκ τῶν 
πλαγίων, οἷον τὰ τῆς πρίνου καὶ τὰ τῆς δρυὸς 
καὶ μίλακος καὶ βάτου καὶ παλιούρου καὶ τὰ τῶν 
ἄλλων. ἀκανθῶδες δὲ ἐκ τῶν ἄκρων καὶ τὸ τῆς 
πεύκης καὶ πίτυος καὶ ἐλάτης ἔτι δὲ κέδρου καὶ 
κεδρίδος. φυλλάκανθον δὲ ὅλως ἐν μὲν τοῖς 
δένδροις οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν ὧν ἡμεῖς ἴσμεν, ἐν δὲ 
τοῖς ἄλλοις ὑλήμασίν ἐστιν, οἷον ἥ τε ἄκορνα καὶ 
ἡ δρυπὶς καὶ ὁ ἄκανος καὶ σχεδὸν ἅπαν τὸ τῶν 
ἀκανωδῶν γένος: ὥσπερ γὰρ φύλλον ἐστὶν ἡ 
ἄκανθα πᾶσιν" εἰ δὲ μὴ φύλλα τις ταῦτα θήσει, 





1 Plin. 10: and 13. 30. 2 οὗ ἐν conj. W.; ὅθεν Ald. H. 
3 παρακανθίζοντα conj. Sch.; παραγωνίζοντα UMV Ald. 
4 τὰ δὲ σχιστὰ add. W. 


2 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. x. 5-6 


leaves. Some again have reedy leaves, as date-palin 
doum-palm and such like. But, generally speaking, 
the leaves of these end in a point; for reeds galin- 
gale sedge and the leaves of other marsh plants are 
of this character. 1 The leaves of all these are com- 
pounded of two parts, and the middle is like a keel, 
placed where in? other leaves is a large passage 
dividing the two halves. Leaves differ also in their 
shapes ; some are round, as those of pear, some 
rather oblong, as those of the apple ; some come to a 
sharp point and have spinous projections? at the 
side, as those of smilax. So far 1 have spoken ot 
undivided leaves; but some are divided‘ and like 
a saw, as those of silver-fir and of fern. To a 
certain extent those of the vine are also divided, 
while those of the fig one might compare to a crow’s 
foot.£ © Some leaves again have notches, as those of 
elm filbert and oak, others have spinous projections 
both at the tip and at the edges, as those of kermes- 
oak oak smilax bramble Christ’s thorn and others. 
The leaf of fir Aleppo pine silver-fir and also of prickly 
cedar and fedris (juniper)’ has a spinous point at 
the tip. Among other trees there is none that we 
know which has spines for leaves altogether, but it 
is so with other woody plants, as akorna drypis pine- 
thistle and almost all the plants which belong to 
that class. For in all these spines, as it were, take 
the place of leaves, and, if one is not to reckon these 


5 κορωνοποδώδη conj. Gesner. The fig-leaf is compared to a 
crow’s foot, Plut. de defect. orac. 3; σκολοπώδη Ald., which 
word is applied to thorns by Diosc. 8 Plin. 16. 90. 

7 κεδρίδος conj. Dalec.; κεδρίας MSS. cf. Plin. U.c., who 
seems to have read aypias. 

8 ἀκανωδῶν conj. W., cf. 1. 18, ὃ; ἀκανθωδῶν MSS.; ἀκαν- 
dav P,. 


73 


THEOPHRASTUS 


συμβαίνοι ἃ ἂν ὅλως ἄφυλλα εἶναι, ἐνίοις δὲ ἄκανθαν 
μὲν εἶναι φύλλον δὲ ὅλως οὐκ ἔχειν, καθάπερ 6 
ἀσφάραγος. 

Πάλιν δ᾽ ὅτι τὰ μὲν ἄμισχα, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς 
σκίλλης καὶ τοῦ βολβοῦ, τὰ δ᾽ ἔχοντα «μίσχον. 
καὶ τὰ μὲν μακρόν, οἷον ἡ ἄμπελος καὶ ὁ κιττός, 
τὰ δὲ βραχὺν καὶ οἷον ἐμπεφυκότα, καθάπερ édaa 
καὶ οὐχ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῆς πλατάνου καὶ ἀμπέλου 
προσηρτημένον. διαφορὰ δὲ καὶ τὸ μὴ ἐκ τῶν 
αὐτῶν εἶναι τὴν πρόσφυσιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν 
πλείστοις ἐκ τῶν κλάδων τοῖς δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν 
ἀκρεμόνων, τῆς δρυὸς δὲ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους, 
τῶν δὲ λαχανωδῶν τοῖς πολλοῖς εὐθὺς ἐκ τῆς 
ῥίζης, οἷον κρομύου σκόρδου κιχορίου, ἔτι δὲ 
ἀσφοδέλου σκίλλης βολβοῦ σισυριγχίου καὶ 
ὅλως τῶν βολβωδῶν' καὶ τούτων δὲ οὐχ ἡ πρώτη 
μόνον ἔκφυσις ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅλος ὁ καυλὸς ἄφυλλον. 
ἐνίων δ᾽ ὅταν γένηται, φύλλα εἰκός, οἷον θριδακίνης 
ὠκίμου σελίνου καὶ τῶν σιτηρῶν ὁμοίως. ἔχει 
δ᾽ ἔνια τούτων καὶ τὸν καυλὸν εἶτ᾽ ἀκανθίζοντα, 
ὡς ἡ θριδακίνη καὶ τὰ φυλλάκανθα πάντα καὶ 
τῶν θαμνωδῶν δὲ καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον, οἷον βάτος 
παλίουρος. 

Κοινὴ δὲ διαφορὰ πάντων ὁμοίως δένδρων καὶ 
τῶν ἄλλων ὅτι τὰ μὲν πολύφυλλα τὰ δ᾽ ὀλιγό- 
φυλλα. ὡς δ᾽ ἐπὶ τὸ πᾶν τὰ πλατύφυλλα ταξί- 
φυλλα, καθάπερ μύρρινος, τὰ δ᾽ ἄτακτα καὶ ὡς 
ἔτυχε, καθώπερ σχεδὸν τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν ἄλλων 





1 “Phin. 16. ‘SI: 2 ἐπὶ conj. W.; ἢ Ald.H. 
3 ἐνίων... εἰκός. So Sch. explains: text probably de- 
fective. 


74 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. x. 6-8 


as leaves, they would be entirely leafless, and some 
would have spines but no leaves at all, as asparagus. 

1 Again there is the difference that some leaves 
have no leaf-stalk, as those of squill and _purse- 
tassels, while others have a leaf-stalk. And some 
of the latter have a long leaf-stalk, as vine 
and ivy, some, as olive, a short one which grows, as 
it were, into the stem and is not simply attached to 
it, as it isin? plane and vine. Another difference is 
that the leaves do not in all cases grow from the 
same part, but, whereas in most trees they grow from 
the branches, in some they grow also from the twigs, 
and in the oak from the stem as well; in most 
pot-herbs they grow directly from the root, as in 
onion garlic chicory, and also in asphodel squill 
purse-tassels Barbary-nut, and generally in plants 
of the same class as purse-tassels; and in these 
not merely the original growth but the whole 
stalk is leafless. In some, when the stalk is pro- 
duced, the leaves may be expected to grow,® as in 
lettuce basil celery, and in like manner in cereals. 
In some of these the stalk presently becomes spinous, 
as in lettuce and the whole class of plants with 
spinous leaves, and still more in shrubby plants, as 
bramble and Christ’s thorn. 

4 Another difference which is found in all trees 
alike and in other plants as well is that some have 
many, some few leaves. And in general those that 
have flat leaves® have them in a regular series, as 
myrtle, while in other instances the leaves are in no 
particular order, but set at random, as in most other 


4 Plin. 16. 92. 
5 πλατύφυλλα UVP; πολύφυλλα conj. W.; but πλατύτης is 
one of the ‘ differences’ given in the summary below. 


79 


THEOPHRASTUS 


= Ἂν ᾿ “ a 4 ΄ 
[ἦν]. ἴδιον δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν λαχανωδῶν, οἷον κρομύοι' 
/, \ / 
γητείου, TO κοιλοφυλλον. 
« lal ς \ rn 
Απλῶς δ᾽ ai διαφοραὶ τῶν φύλλων ἢ μεγέθει 
, x / Ἃ 
ἢ πλήθει ἢ σχήματι ἢ πλατύτητι ἢ στενότητι 
4 x Ἃ / a 
ἢ KOLAOTHTL ἢ τραχύτητι ἢ λειότητι καὶ τῷ Tap- 
/ x / ΥΨ, \ \ \ 4 
ακανθίζειν ἢ μή. ἔτι δὲ κατὰ τὴν πρόσφυσιν 
ε΄ x ᾽ « \ Ν τ > \ ἐν Ὰ ΄ 
ὅθεν ἢ δι’ οὗ" τὸ μὲν ὅθεν, ἀπὸ ῥίζης ἢ κλάδου 
Ἁ AtLaY 3 , \ N SNP A \ , 
ἢ καυλοῦ 1) ἀκρεμόνος: τὸ δὲ δι᾿ οὗ, ἢ διὰ μίσχου 
a ? > a \ 2 \ \ οἰ a > fa \ 
ἢ δι’ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰ δὴ πολλὰ ἐκ TOU αὐτοῦ. Kal 
, \ , 
ἔνια καρποφύρα, μεταξὺ περιειληφότα Tov καρπόν, 
/ , 
ὥσπερ ἡ ᾿Αλεξανδρεία δάφνη ἐπιφυλλόκαρπος. 
Αἱ μὲν οὖν διαφοραὶ τῶν φύλλων κοινοτέρως 
a / 
πᾶσαι εἴρηνται Kal σχεδόν εἰσιν ἐν τούτοις. 
SS ΄ δὲ \ \ IE SSS \ a \ 
(Σύγκειται δὲ τὰ μὲν ἐξ ἰνὸς Kal φλοιοῦ καὶ 
Ν a fal \ na I 
σαρκός, οἷον τὰ τῆς συκῆς Kal τῆς ἀμπέλου, τὰ δὲ 
© “4 a , 
ὥσπερ ἐξ ἰνὸς μόνον, οἷον τοῦ καλάμου Kai σίτου. 
, ¢ 
τὸ δὲ ὑγρὸν ἁπάντων κοινόν: ἅπασι yap ἐνυ- 
/ \ n V4 a 
πάρχει καὶ τούτοις καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς ἐπετείοις 
Ἧ 7 n 
[μίσχος ἄνθος καρπὸς εἴ Tt ἄλλο]: μᾶλλον δὲ Kai 
a , ’ \ \ , 7 - 
τοῖς μὴ ἐπετείοις" οὐδὲν γὰρ ἄνευ τούτου. δοκεῖ 
a » \ \ beara! / a 
δὲ Kal τῶν μίσχων τὰ μὲν ἐξ ἰνῶν μόνον συγκεῖ- 
\ na ’, \ an 
σθαι, καθάπερ τὰ τοῦ σίτου καὶ τοῦ καλάμου, τὰ 
n nan 4 / 
δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν, ὥσπερ οἱ καυλοί. 





1 τῶν ἄλλων ἣν MSS.; τῶν ποιωδῶν conj. W. ἦν, at all 


events, cannot be right. ΞΡ host LOU 
3 ἢ στενότητι ἢ κοιλότητι : SO G3 ἢ κοιλότητι ἢ στενότητι 
MSS. 4 2.6. petiolate. 5 7.e. sessile. 


6 2.6. compound : εἰ δὴ conj. W.; εἴδη UMVAId. 
7 The passage from here to the end of the chapter is a 


digression, 


76 


ENQUIRY, “INTOMPLANTS; 1. x. 8-9 


plants. ? It is peculiar to pot-herbs to have hollow 
leaves, as in onion and horn-onion. 

To sum up, the differences between leaves are 
shewn in size, number, shape, hollowness, in breadth,? 
roughness and their opposites, and in the presence or 
absence of spinous projections; also as to their 
attachment, according to the part from which they 
spring or the means by which they are attached ; 
the part from which they spring being the root or a 
branch or the stalk or a twig, while the means by 
which they are attached may be a leaf-stalk,* or they 
may be attached directly;5 and there may be® 
several leaves attached by the same _leaf-stalk. 
Further some leaves are fruit-bearing, enclosing the 
fruit between them, as the Alexandrian laurel, which 
has its fruit attached to the leaves. 

These are all the differences in leaves stated some- 
what generally, and this is a fairly complete list of 
examples. 


Composition of the various parts of a plant. 


7(Leaves are composed some of fibre bark and flesh, 
as those of the fig and vine, some, as it were, of 
fibre alone, as those of reeds and corn. But moisture 
is common to all, for it is found both in leaves and in 
the other annual parts,® leaf-stalk, flower, fruit and so 
forth but more especially in the parts which are 
not annual ®; in fact no part is without it. Again it 
appears that some leaf-stalks are composed only of 
fibre, as those of corn and reeds, some of the same 
materials as the stalks. 


ὃ μίσχος . . . ἄλλο has no construction ; probably a (correct) 
gloss, taken from 1, 2, 1. 
9 2.6. while these are young, W. 


7 


LO 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Τῶν δ᾽ ἀνθῶν τὰ μὲν ἐκ φλοιοῦ καὶ φλεβὸς, καὶ 
σαρκός, «τὰ δ᾽ ἐκ σαρκὸς:- μόνον, οἷον τὰ ἐν μέσῳ 
τῶν ἄρων. 

Ὁμοίως. δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν καρπῶν' οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ 
σαρκὸς καὶ ἰνός, οἱ δὲ ἐκ σαρκὸς “μόνον, οἱ δὲ καὶ 
ἐκ δέρματος σύγκεινται" τὸ δὲ ὑγρὸν ἀκολουθεῖ 
καὶ τούτοις. ἐκ σαρκὸς μὲν καὶ ἰνὸς ὁ τῶν 
κοκκυμήλων καὶ σικύων, ἐξ ἰνὸς δὲ καὶ δέρματος 
ὁ τῶν συκαμίνων καὶ τῆς poas. ἄλλοι δὲ κατ᾽ 
ἄλλον τρόπον μεμερισμένοι. πάντων δὲ ὡς 
εἰπεῖν τὸ μὲν ἔξω φλοιὸς τὸ δ᾽ ἐντὸς σὰρξ τῶν δὲ 
καὶ πυρήν. Ὶ 

ΧΙ. “Eo yarov δ᾽ ἐν ἅπασι τὸ σπέρμα. τοῦτο 
δὲ ἐ ἔχον ἐν ἑαυτῷ σύμφυτον ὑγρὸν καὶ θερμόν, ὧ ὧν 
ἐκλιπόντων ἄγονα, καθάπερ τὰ ὠά. καὶ τῶν μὲν 
εὐθὺ τὸ σπέρμα μετὰ τὸ περιέχον, οἷον φοίνικος 
καρύου ἀμυγδάλης, πλείω δὲ τούτων τὰ ἐμπερι- 
ἔχοντα, ὡς τὰ τοῦ φοίνικος. τῶν δὲ μεταξὺ σὰρξ 
καὶ πυρήν, ὥσπερ ἐλάας καὶ κοκκυμηλέας καὶ 
ἑτέρων. ἔνια δὲ καὶ ἐν λοβῷ, τὰ δ᾽ ἐν ὑμένι, τὰ 
δ᾽ ἐν ἀγγείῳ, τὰ δὲ καὶ γυμνόσπερμα τελείως. 

ἊΨ λοβῷ μὲν οὐ μόνον τὰ ἐπέτεια, καθάπερ τὰ 
χεδροπὰ καὶ ἕτερα πλείω τῶν ἀγρίων, ἀλλὰ καὶ 
τῶν δένδρων ἔνια, καθάπερ ἡ ἥ τε “κερωνία, ἦν τινες 
καλοῦσι συκῆν Αἰγυπτίαν, καὶ ἡ κερκὶς καὶ ἡ 
κολοιτία περὶ Λιπάραν' ἐν ὑμένι δ᾽ ἔνια τῶν 





1 τὰ Ὁ ;Ψ τὸ Ald. 

2 τὰ δ᾽ ἐκ σαρκὸς preserved only in mBas.; om. ΜΨΡ, 
Sch. reads τὸ. 

3 ἄρων conj. W.; αἰρῶν MSS. * τῆρ, find: 

5 Plin. 18. 53. 8 οὐ conj. Sch.; οὖν Ald.H. 


78 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. x. ro-x1. 2 


Of flowers some! are composed of bark veins and 
Hesh, some of flesh only,? as those in the middle of 
cuckoo-pint.® 

So too with fruits; some are made of flesh and 
fibre, some of flesh alone, and some of skin#* also. 
And moisture is necessarily found in these also. 
The fruit of plums and cucumbers is made of flesh 
and fibre, that of mulberries and pomegranates of 
fibre and skin. The materials are differently distri- 
buted in different fruits, but of nearly all the outside 
is bark, the inside flesh, and this in some cases 
includes a stone.) 


Differences in seeds. 


XI. Last in all plants comes the seed. This possesses 
in itself natural moisture and warmth, and, if these 
fail, the seeds are sterile, like eggs in the like case. 
In some plants the seed comes immediately inside 
the envelope, as in date filbert almond (however, as 
in the case of the date, there may be more than one 
covering). In some cases again there is flesh and a 
stone between the envelope and the seed, as in olive 
plum and other fruits. Some seeds again are enclosed 
in a pod, some in a husk, some in a vessel, and some 
are completely naked. 

5 Enclosed in a pod are not® only the seeds Οἱ 
annual plants, as leguminous plants, and of con- 
siderable numbers of wild plants, but also those of 
certain trees, as the carob-tree (which some?” call 
the ‘Egyptian fig’), Judas-tree,® and the foloztia® 
of the Liparae islands. In a husk are enclosed the 


7 ἥν τινες conj. St. from G3; ἥντινα Ald. H. 
8 Clearly not the κερκίς (aspen) described 3. 14. 2. 
¥ κολοιτία MSS.; κολουτέα conj. St., cf. 3. 17. 2n. 


79 


THEOPHRASTUS 


/ e e 
ἐπετείων, ὥσπερ ὁ πυρὸς καὶ ὁ κέγχρος: ὡσαύτως 
δὲ καὶ ἐναγγειοσπέρματα καὶ γυμνοσπέρματα. 
ἐνωγγειοσπέρματα μὲν οἷον ἥ τε μήκων καὶ ὅσα 
/ 
μηκωνικά:" TO γὰρ σήσαμον ἰδιωτέρως: γυμνο- 
σπέρματα δὲ τῶν τε λαχάνων πολλά, καθάπερ 
ἄνηθον κορίαννον ἄννησον κύμινον μάραθον καὶ 
ἕτερα πλείω. τῶν δὲ δένδρων οὐδὲν γυμνόσπερμον 
> TK \ / » A \ \ 
arr ἢ σαρξὶ περιεχόμενον ἢ κελύφεσιν, τὰ μὲν 
δερματικοῖς, ὥσπερ ἡ βάλανος καὶ τὸ Εὐβοϊκόν, 
\ \ ΄, Ψ ε ᾽ 7 \ \ 
τὰ δὲ ξυλώδεσιν, ὥσπερ ἡ ἀμυγδάλη Kal TO 
κάρυον. οὐδὲν δὲ ἐναγγειόσπερμον, εἰ μή τις τὸν 
“ -“ / al 
κῶνον ἀγγεῖον θήσει διὰ TO χωρίζεσθαι τῶν 
καρπῶν. 
/ a 
Αὐτὰ δὲ Ta σπέρματα τῶν μὲν εὐθὺ σαρκώδη, 
/ Ὁ \ \ / n XN ἿἶΝ 
καθάπερ ὅσα Kapunpa καὶ βαλανηρά: τῶν δὲ ἐν 
πυρῆνι τὸ σαρκῶδες ἔχεται, καθάπερ ἐλάας καὶ 
/ \ 7 lal) hee / / a 
Sadvidos καὶ ἄλλων. τῶν δ᾽ ἐμπύρηνα μόνον ἢ 
πυρηνώδη γε καὶ ὥσπερ ξηρά, καθάπερ τὰ 
κνηκώδη καὶ κεγχραμιδώδη καὶ πολλὰ τῶν 
lal \ \ a / 
Aayavnpav. ἐμφανέστατα δὲ τὰ TOD φοίνικος" 
2»O\ \ / 54 a > , > ’ 
οὐδὲ yap κοιλότητα ἔχει τοῦτο οὐδεμίαν ἀλλ 
“ / > \ > ᾽ e ΄ / \ 
ὅλον ξηρόν: ov μὴν ἀλλ᾽ ὑγρότης δή τις Kal 
an / 
θερμότης ὑπάρχει δῆλον ὅτι Kal τούτῳ, καθάπερ 
εἴπομεν. 





1 μηκωνικὰ . .. τὸ γὰρ conj. W. from G3; μήκωνι: κατὰ γὰρ 
UMVAId. 

2 κορίαννον ἄννησον conj. Sch.; κοριάννησον UMAId.; κο- 
pavynoov V; cf. Plin. 19. 119. 

3 ἢ κελύφεσιν conj. Sch., cf. CP. 4.1.23 4 δὲ κύμασιν U; 
Plin. 15. 112, crusta teguntur glandes. 4 Pligg, 15. 1138. 


80 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. x1. 2-3 


seeds of some annuals, as wheat and millet; and 
in like manner some plants have their seeds in a 
vessel, some have them naked. In a vessel are 
those of the poppy and plants of the poppy kind ;! 
(the case of sesame however is somewhat peculiar), 
while many pot-herbs have their seeds naked, as 
dill coriander? anise cummin fennel and many 
others. No tree has naked seeds, but either they 
are enclosed in flesh or in shells,? which are some- 
times..of leathery nature, as the acorn and the sweet 
chestnut, sometimes woody, as almond and _ nut. 
Moreover no tree has its seeds in a vessel, unless one 
reckons a cone asa vessel, because it can be separated 
from the fruits. 

The actual seeds are in some cases fleshy in them- 
selves, as all those which resemble nuts or acorns ; 
‘in some cases the fleshy part is contained in a stone, 
as in olive bay and others. The seeds in some 
plants again merely consist of a stone,® or at least 
are of stone-like character, and are, as it were,® dry ; 
for instance those of plants like safflower millet and 
many pot-herbs. Most obviously of this character 
are those of the date,’ for they contain no cavity, 
but are throughout dry §;—not but what there must 
be even in them some moisture and warmth, as we 
have said.9 


5. ἐμπύρηνα μόνον ἢ πυρηνώδη conj. Sch.; ἐν πυρῆνι μόνον ἢ 
πυρηνώδει Ald. (P has πυρηνώδη). 

5 7.e. no seed can really be without moisture ; cf. 1. 11. 1. 

McfoG. Poole. 4. 

8 ξηρὸν I conj.,as required by the next clause ; ἔξορθον PAld.; 
ἔξορρον W. from Sch. conj. ‘The germ in the date-stone is so 
small as to be undiscoverable, whence the stone seems to be 
OO aoe throughout, with no cavity for the germ. 

1:.10:9: 


81 


4 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ A \ 
Διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ τῷ τὰ μὲν ἀθρόα per 
ἢ , 5 \ \ a \ = 
ἀλλήλων εἶναι, τὰ δὲ διεστῶτα Kal στοιχηδον, 
¢ an / a 
ὥσπερ τὰ τῆς κολοκύντης καὶ σικύας Kal τῶν 
a / an 
δένδρων, ὡς Περσικῆς μηλέας. καὶ τῶν ἀθρόων 
/ - 
τὰ μὲν ἑνί τινι περιέχεσθαι, καθάπερ τὰ τῆς ῥόας 
an / / rn 
Kal τῆς ἀπίου Kal μηλέας καὶ τῆς ἀμπέλου Kal 
a \ \ δ 9 7 \ s \ 
συκῆς" τὰ δὲ μετ᾽ ἀλλήλων μὲν εἶναι, μὴ περι- 
’ / an 
ἔχεσθαι δὲ ὑφ᾽ ἑνός, ὥσπερ τὰ σταχυηρὰ τῶν 
/ 2 £ / \ 
ἐπετείων, εἰ μή TLS θείη τὸν στάχυν ὡς περιέχον" 
e/ ’ ” \ ς , \ 5 \ 
οὕτω δ᾽ ἔσται καὶ ὁ βότρυς καὶ τᾶλλα τὰ 
/ "ἢ ev \ / ᾽ > / \ 
Botpuwdn καὶ ὅσα δὴ φέρει δι’ εὐβοσίαν καὶ 
\ >’ / \ ΄ ev 
χώρας ἀρετὴν ἀθρόους τοὺς καρπούς, ὥσπερ ἐν 
\ \ y \ / 
Συρίᾳ φασὶ καὶ ἄλλοθι τὰς ἐλάας. 
¢ a “ \ 
᾿Αλλὰ καὶ αὕτη δοκεῖ τις εἶναι διαφορὰ τὸ τὰ 
\ , \ a / 
μὲν ἀφ᾽ ἑνὸς μίσχου καὶ μιᾶς προσφύσεως 
/ ’ / / a a 
ἀθρόα γίνεσθαι, καθάπερ ἐπί τε τῶν βοτρυηρῶν 
al N / a 
Kal σταχυηρῶν εἴρηται μὴ περιεχόμενα κοινῷ 
A \ \ / 
τινι γίνεσθαι: τὰ δὲ μὴ γίνεσθαι. ἐπεὶ καθ᾽ 
¢ / lal - 
ἕκαστόν γε λαμβάνοντι τῶν σπερμάτων ἢ τῶν 
περιεχόντων ἰδίαν ἀρχὴν ἔχει τῆς “προσφύσεως, 
οἷον ἥ τε ῥὰξ καὶ ἡ ῥόα καὶ πάλιν ὁ πυρὸς καὶ ” 
κριθή. ἥκιστα δ᾽ ἂν δόξειεν τὰ τῶν μήλων Kal 
lal id 4 / / 
τὰ TOV ἀπίων, OTL συμψαύει TE καὶ περιείληπται 
/ a 
καθάπερ ὑμένι τινὶ δερματικῷ περὶ ὃν TO περι- 
/ 5 ? ccd \ ee .«“ *O7 
κάρπιον' ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως καὶ τούτων ἕκαστον ἰδίαν 
\ \ / , od 
ἀρχὴν ἔχει καὶ φύσιν: φανερώτατα δὲ TO 





1 στοιχηδόν conj. W.; σχεδὸν Ald. 
2 ἑνί τινι conj. Sch.; ἐν τινι Ald. δ᾽ of. Plin. 18..16;: 
4 αὕτη conj. Sch.; αὐτὴ Ald. 5 τὸ conj. W.; τῷ Ald. 


82 


ENQUIRY INTOR BEANTS) 1 xt. 426 


Further seeds differ in that in some cases they are 
massed together, in others they are separated and 
arranged in rows,! as those of the gourd and 
bottle-gourd, and of some trees, such as the citron. 
Again of those that are massed together some differ 
in being contained in a single? case, as those of 
pomegranate pear apple vine and fig; others in 
being closely associated together, yet not contained 
in a single case, as,among annuals, those which are 
in an ear—unless one regards the ear as a case. In 
that case the grape-cluster and other clustering fruits 
will come under the description, as well as all those 
plants which on account of good feeding or excellence 
of soil bear their fruits massed together, as they 
say the olive does in Syria and elsewhere. 

But this* too seems to be a point of difference, 
that® some grow massed together from a single 
stalk and a single attachment, as has been said in 
the case of plants with clusters or ears whose seeds 
do not grow contained in one common case; while 
others grow otherwise. For in these instances, if 
one takes each seed or case separately, it has its own 
special point of attachment, for instance each grape 
or pomegranate,° or again each grain of wheat or 
barley. This would seem to be least of all the case 
with the seeds of apples and pears, since’ these 
touch one another ® and are enclosed in a sort of 
skin-like membrane, outside which is the fruit-case.® 
However each of these too has its own peculiar 
point of attachment and character; this is most 


ὁ ἥτε... ῥόα. : text perhaps defective; ἥ τε pat βότρυα: 
καὶ τῆς ῥόας ὁ mupny conj. Bod. 

7 ὅτι conj. Sch.; ὅπι U; ὅποι PMAId. 

Sef 8. Os 2. * γ: 9. pulp. 


83 


THEOPHRASTUS 


i! n / « \ 
κεχωρισθαι Ta τῆς poas’ ὁ γὰρ πυρὴν ἑκαστῳ 
lal al 
προσπέφυκεν, οὐχ ὥσπερ τῶν συκῶν ἄδηλα διὰ 
\ / \ 
τὴν ὑγρότητα. καὶ yap τούτῳ ἔχουσι διαφορὰν 
, lal 
καίπερ ἀμφότερα περιεχόμενα σαρκώδει τινὶ καὶ TO 
rn / \ la) ” \ \ \ 
τοῦτο TEPLELANPOTL META τῶν ἄλλων" τὰ μὲν γὰρ 
n \ “ a Ν 
περὶ ἕκαστον ἔχει πυρῆνα τὸ σαρκῶδες τοῦτο τὸ 
ς / “ , an 
ὑγρόν, αἱ δὲ κεγχραμίδες ὥσπερ κοινόν TL πᾶσαι, 
καθάπερ καὶ τὸ γίγαρτον καὶ ὅσα τὸν αὐτὸν ἔχει 
“ b] x \ \ ΄ \ ΖΈΟΝ 
τρόπον. ἀλλὰ τὰς μὲν τοιαύτας διαφορὰς τάχ 
” / , ® o \ / \ 
av τις λάβοι πλείους" ὧν δεῖ TAS κυριωτάτας καὶ 
μάλιστα τῆς φύσεως μὴ ἀγνοεῖν. 
ΧΙΙ. Αἱ δὲ κατὰ τοὺς χυλοὺς καὶ τὰ σχήματα 
\ \ [{ \ \ \ a ee 
Kal Tas ὅλας μορφὰς σχεδὸν φανεραὶ πᾶσιν, ὥστε 
a a / e a 
μὴ δεῖσθαι λόγου: πλὴν τοσοῦτόν γ᾽ OTL σχῆμα 
’ 
οὐδὲν περικάρπιον εὐθύγραμμον οὐδὲ γωνίας ἔχει. 
lal lal / 
TOV δὲ χυλῶν οἱ μέν εἰσιν οἰνώδεις, ὥσπερ ἀμ- 
/ / Oa e ’ > , ee 
πέλου συκαμίνου μύρτου" οἱ δ᾽ ἔλαώδεις, ὥσπερ 
aT; , ΄ > an ΄ , 
ἐλάας δάφνης Kapvas ἀμυγδαλῆς πεύκης πίτυος 
/ e \ , a ΄, ’ὔ 
ἐλάτης" οἱ δὲ μελιτώδεις, οἷον σύκου φοίνικος 
διοσ βαλάνου" οἱ δὲ δριμεῖς, οἷον ὀρυγάνου θύμβρᾳς 
, ld e \ , Ὁ » / 
καρδάμου νάπυος" οἱ δὲ πικροί, ὥσπερ ἀψινθίου 
, n 
κενταυρίου. διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ ταῖς evwdiats, 
᾿ ’ / / ἊΨ ΝῊ. a A / 
οἷον ἀννήσου κεδρίδος" ἐνίων δὲ ὑδαρεῖς av δόξαιεν, 
a / \ a a 
οἷον of τῶν κοκκυμηλέων" οἱ δὲ ὀξεῖς, ὥσπερ ῥοῶν 





1 i.e. of the pulp. 2 τούτῳ conj. Sch.; τοῦτο Ald. 
3 τὸν om. St.: 2.6. the seeds are arranged in compartments 
of the pulp. 


84 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. x1. 6-x11, 1 


obvious in the separation of the pomegranate seeds, 
for the stone is attached to each, and the connexion 
is not, as in figs, obscured by the moisture.! For 
here? too there is a difference, although in both 
cases the seeds are enclosed in a sort of fleshy 
substance, as well as in the case which encloses this 
and the other parts of the fruit. For in the pome- 
granate the stones have this moist fleshy substance 
enclosing each? separate stone; but in the case of 
fig-seeds, as well as in that of grape-stones and other 
plants which have the same arrangement, the same 
pulp is common to all. However one might find 
more such differences, and one should not ignore the 
most important of them, namely those which specially 
belong to the plant’s natural character. 


Differences in taste. 


XII. The differences in taste, shape, and form as 
a whole are tolerably evident to all, so that they do 
not need explanation; except that it should be 
stated that® the case containing the fruit is never 
right-lined in shape and never has angles. ὅ Of 
tastes some are like wine, as those of vine mul- 
berry and myrtle ; some are like olive-oil, as, besides 
olive itself, bay hazel almond fir Aleppo pine silver- 
fir; some like honey, as fig date chestnut; some are 
pungent, as marjoram savory cress mustard; some 
are bitter, as wormwood centaury. Some also are 
remarkably fragrant, as anise and juniper’; of 
some the smell would seem to be insipid,’ as in 
plums; of others sharp, as in pomegranates and 


42,6. the fruit is not divided into compartments. 

5 πλὴν ἢ τοσοῦτον conj. W.; πλὴν τοσοῦτον ἢ UMAI. 
S Phin 1186) so ΤΌ Wa Seopa. 14. 8 Lit. watery. 
85 


. 


THEOPHRASTUS 


At Oe / e ’, ‘ > , \ \ 
Kal ἐνίων μήλων. ἁπάντων δὲ οἰνώδεις καὶ TOUS 
a / / f 
ἐν τούτῳ τῷ γένει θετέον: ἄλλοι δὲ ἐν ἄλλοις 
φ , “ 
εἴδεσιν: ὑπὲρ ὧν ἁπάντων ἀκριβέστερον ἐν τοῖς 
Ἢ A ς , CU ey Vv. Sav 
περὶ χυλῶν ῥητέον, αὐτάς TE τὰς ἰδέας διαριθμου- 
/ e / \ \ ἣ >) / \ 
μένους ὁπόσαι Kal TAS πρὸς ἀλλήλους διαφορὰς 
/ 7 \ 4 
Kal τίς ἡ ἑκάστου φύσις καὶ δύναμις. 
» δὲ \ ς an δέ ὃ a νς ς , 
Eyer δὲ καὶ ἡ τῶν δενόρων αὐτῶν ὑγροτης, 
. > / / " ¢: \ / > 
ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, διάφορα εἴδη: ἡ μὲν γάρ ἐστιν 
uA n na \ a - 
ὀπώδης, ὥσπερ ἡ τῆς συκῆς καὶ τῆς μήκωνος" ἡ 
/ “ 
δὲ πιττώδης, οἷον ἐλάτης πεύκης τῶν κωνοφύρων' 
/ - / 
ἄλλη δ᾽ ὑδαρής, οἷον ἀμπέλου ἀπίου μηλέας, καὶ 
ol lal / ? / Vd 
TOV λαχανωδῶν δέ, οἷον σικύου κολοκύντης θριδα- 
/ e Ν ” τ / 4 y Y 
κίνης" αἱ δὲ [ἤδη] δριμύτητά τινα ἔχουσι, καθάπερ 
e a ΄ \ ΄, ε \ \ > , 
ἡ Tov Ovpov καὶ θύμβρας: αἱ δὲ καὶ εὐωδίαν, 
¢ a , fal 
ὥσπερ αἱ TOU σελίνου ἀνήθου μαράθου Kal τῶν 
Zi ’ a > an \ 
τοιούτων. ὡς δ᾽ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ἅπασαι κατὰ τὴν 
/ / 
ἰδίαν φύσιν ἑκάστου δένδρου καὶ ws καθ᾽ ὅλου 
a lal lal \ / “ / 
εἰπεῖν φυτοῦ: πᾶν yap ἔχει Kpaciv τινα καὶ μίξιν 
> / a « lal 
ἰδίαν, ἥπερ οἰκεία δῆλον OTL τυγχάνει τοῖς ὑπο- 
7 an e -» , 
κειμένοις καρποῖς" ὧν τοῖς πλείστοις συνεμφαίνε- 
΄ e , ᾽ > \ by] \ ΄ " ᾽ 
ταί τις ὁμοιότης οὐκ ἀκριβὴς οὐδὲ σαφής: ἀλλ 
a / “ 
ἐν τοῖς περικαρπίοις" διὸ μᾶλλον κατεργασίαν 
/ A / \ x 2 ase a 
λαμβάνει καὶ πέψιν καθαρὰν καὶ εἰλικρινῆ ἡ τοῦ 





ΣΟ θα... 

2. T. is said to have written a treatise περὶ χυμῶν. 

5 ῥπώδης. omds is used specially of the juice of the fig 
itself. 

4 μήκωνος probably corrupt: it should be a tree. 


86 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. xu. 1-2 


some kinds of apples. 1 But the smells even οἱ 
those in this class must in all cases be called wine- 
like, though they differ in different kinds, on which 
matter we must speak more precisely, when we come 
to speak of flavours,? reckoning up the different 
kinds themselves, and stating what differences 
there are between them, and what is the natural 
character and property of each. 

Now the sap of the trees themselves assumes 
different kinds of tastes as was said; sometimes it 
is milky,®? as that of the fig and poppy,’ some- 
times like pitch, as in silver-fir fir and the conifers ; 
sometimes it is insipid, as in vine pear and apple, 
as well as such pot-herbs as cucumber gourd 
lettuce ; while others® again have a certain pungency, 
such as the juice of thyme and savory; others have 
a fragrance, such as the juices of celery dill fennel 
and the like. To speak generally, all saps corre- 
spond to the special character of the several trees, 
one might almost add, to that of each plant. For 
every plant has a certain temperament and com- 
position of its own, which® plainly belongs in a 
special sense to the fruits of each. And in most of 
these is seen a sort of correspondence with the 
character of the plant as a whole, which is not 
however exact nor obvious; it is chiefly 7 in the fruit- 
cases® that it is seen, and that is why it is the 
character of the flavour which becomes more com- 
plete and matures into something separate and 


5 [have bracketed ἤδη : ὃ a dittography of αἱ δὲ. 

6 ἥπερ mBas.H ; εἴπερ MAId. 

7 ἀλλ᾽ ἐν... μᾶλλον MSS. (ἢ) Ald.H ; yap for διὸ conj. W., 
omitting stop before it. 

Pi 3-e-ubnel pulp! soit.) Chey he ΜἹ- Ὁ: 


87 


THEOPHRASTUS 


a 3 “ Ν \ .“ ¢ 
χυλοῦ φύσις" δεῖ γὰρ ὥσπερ τὸ μὲν ὕλην ὑπο- 
λαβεῖν τὸ δὲ εἶδος καὶ μορφήν. 

Ἔχει δὲ αὐτὰ τὰ σπέρματα καὶ οἱ χιτῶνες οἱ 
περὶ αὐτὰ διαφορὰν τῶν χυλῶν. ὡς δ᾽ ἁπλῶς 
εἰπεῖν ἅπαντα τὰ μόρια τῶν δένδρων καὶ φυτῶν, 
οἷον ῥίξα καυλὸς ἀκρεμὼν φύλλον καρπός, ἔχει 
τινὰ οἰκειότητα πρὸς τὴν ὅλην φύσιν, εἰ καὶ 
παραλλάττει. κατά τε τᾶς ὀσμὰς καὶ τοὺς χυλούς, 
ὡς τὰ μὲν εὔοσμα καὶ εὐώδη τὰ δ᾽ ἄοσμα καὶ 
ἄχυλα παντελῶς εἶναι τῶν τοῦ αὐτοῦ μορίων. 

᾿Ενίων γὰρ εὔοσμα τὰ ἄνθη μᾶλλον ἢ τὰ 
φύλλα, τῶν δὲ ἀνάπαλιν τὰ φύλλα μᾶλλον καὶ 
οἱ κλῶνες, ὥσπερ τῶν στεφανωματικῶν' τῶν δὲ οἱ 
καρποί: τῶν δ᾽ οὐδέτερον' ἐνίων δ᾽ αἱ ῥίζαι: τῶν 
δέ TL μέρος. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ κατὰ τοὺς χυλούς. τὰ 
μὲν γὰρ βρωτὰ τὰ δ᾽ “ἄβρωτα τυγχάνει καὶ ἐν 
φύλλοις καὶ περικαρπίοις. ἰδιώτατον δὲ τὸ ἐπὶ 
τῆς φιλύρας' ταύτης γὰρ τὰ μὲν φύλλα γλυκέα 
καὶ πολλὰ τῶν ζώων ἐσθίει, ὁ δὲ καρπὸς οὐδενὶ 
βρωτός" ἐπεὶ τό γε ἀνάπαλιν οὐδὲν θαυμαστόν, 
ὥστε τὰ μὲν φύλλα μὴ ἐσθίεσθαι τοὺς δὲ καρποὺς 
οὐ μόνον ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν ἀχλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων 
ζώων. ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τούτου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων 
τῶν τοιούτων ὕστερον πειρατέον θεωρεῖν τὰς 
αἰτίας. 

XIII. Νῦν δὲ τοσοῦτον ἔστω δῆλον, ὅτε κατὰ 
πάντα τὰ μέρη πλείους εἰσὶ διαφοραὶ πολλαχῶς: 





1 ὦ, 6. the pulp. 2 «1.6 the flavour. 

8 Sense: Every tree has a characteristic juice of its own, 
which is however specially recognisable in its fruit ; in the 
tree as a whole its character is not always apparent. Hence 
the importance of the flavour (which is seen in the fruit- 
pulp), since it is this which determines the specific character, 


88 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. xi. 2-xm1. 1 


distinct; in fact we must consider the one! as 
‘matter,’ the other? as ‘form’ or specific character.* 

Again the seeds themselves and the coats con- 
taining them have different flavours. And, to speak 
generally, all parts of trees and plants, as root stem 
branch leaf fruit, have a certain relationship to the 
character of the whole, even if‘ there is variation in 
scents and tastes, so that of the parts of the same 
plant some are fragrant and sweet to the taste, 
while others are entirely scentless and tasteless. 

For in some plants the flowers are more fragrant 
than the leaves, in others on the contrary it is 
rather the leaves and twigs which are fragrant, as in 
those used for garlands. In others again it is the 
fruits; in others it is neither ὃ of these parts, but, in 
some few cases, the root or some part of it. And 
so too with the flavours. Some leaves and some 
fruit-pulps are, and some are not good for food. 
ὁ Most peculiar is the case of the lime: the leaves 
of this are sweet, and many animals eat them, but 
the fruit no creature eats, (for, as to the contrary 
case, it would not be at all surprising that the leaves 
should not be eaten, while the fruits were eaten not 
only by us but by other animals). But concerning 
this and other such matters we must endeavour to 
consider the causes on some other occasion. 


Differences in flowers. 


XIII. For the present let so much be clear, that 
in all the parts of plants there are numerous differ- 


the pulp of fruit in general being, in Aristotelian language, 
the ‘matter,’ while the flavour is ‘form.’ cf. C.P. 6. 6. 6. 
* ef καὶ conj. Sch.; ἡ δὲ U; εἰ δὲ MVAId. 
* οὐδέτερον seems inaccurately used, as four parts have been 
mentioned. Sc a) 10. Ὁ. Phin 10: G5: 
89 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν ἀνθῶν τὰ μέν ἐστι χνοώδη, καθάπερ 
τὸ τῆς ἀμπέλου και συκαμινου καὶ τοῦ κιττοῦ" 
τὰ δὲ φυλλώδη, καθάπερ ᾿ἀμυγδαλῆς μηλέας 
ἀπίου κοκκυμηλέας. καὶ τὰ μὲν μέγεθος ἔχει, 
τὸ δὲ τῆς ἔλάας φυλλῶδες ὃ ὃν ἀμέγεθες. ὁμοίως 
δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐπετείοις καὶ ποιώδεσι τὰ μὲν 
φυλλώδη τὰ δὲ χνοώδη. πάντων δὲ τὰ μὲν δίχροα 
τὰ δὲ μονόχροα. τὰ μὲν τῶν δένδρων τά Ye 
πολλὰ μονόχροα Kal λευκανθῆ" μόνον yap ws 
εἰπεῖν τὸ τῆς ῥόας φοινικοῦν καὶ ἀμυγδαλῶν 
τινων ὑπέρυθρον’ ἄλλου δὲ οὐδενὸς τῶν ἡμέρων 
οὔτε ἀνθῶδες οὔτε δίχρουν, ἀλλ᾽ εἴ τινος τῶν 
ἀγρίων, οἷον τὸ τῆς ἐλάτης: κρόκινον γὰρ τὸ 
ταύτης ἄνθος" καὶ ὅσα δή φασιν ἐν τῇ ἔξω θαλ- 
ἄττῃ ῥόδων ἔ ἔχειν τὴν χρόαν. 

Ἔν δὲ τοῖς ἐπετείοις σχεδὸν τά γε πλείω 
τοιαῦτα καὶ δίχροα καὶ διανθῆ. λέγω δὲ διανθὲς 
ὅτι ἕτερον ἄνθος ἐν τῷ ἄνθει ἔχει κατὰ μέσον, 
ὥσπερ τὸ ῥόδον καὶ τὸ κρίνον καὶ τὸ ἴον τὸ μέλαν. 
ἔνια δὲ καὶ povopudra φύεται διαγραφὴν ἐ ἔχοντα 
μόνον τῶν πλειόνων, ὥσπ τερ τὸ τῆς ἰασιώνης" οὐ 
γὰρ κεχώρισται ταύτης ἐν τῷ ἄνθει τὸ φύλλον 
ἕκαστον" οὐδὲ δὴ τοῦ λειρίου τὸ κάτω μέρος, ἀλλὰ 
ἐκ τῶν ἄκρων ἀποφύσεις γωνιώδεις. σχεδὸν δὲ 
καὶ τὸ τῆς ἐλάας τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν. 

Διαφέρει δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἔκφυσιν καὶ θέσιν' 
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἔχει περὶ αὐτὸν τὸν καρπόν, οἷον ap- 





1 7.e, petaloid. 

2 ἀγρίων Ald.; αἰτίων U; ἀντιῶν MV; ποντίων conj. W. 
5 ἡ, δ. corolla and stamens, etc. 

4 7,6. are gamopetalous (or gamosepalous). 


go 


ENQUIRY “INTO PLANTS, 1. xi. 1-3 


ences shewn in a variety of ways. Thus of flowers 
some are downy, as that of the vine mulberry and 
ivy, some are ‘leafy,'! as in almond apple pear 
plum. Again some of these flowers are conspicuous, 
while that of the olive, though it is ‘leafy,’ is incon- 
spicuous. Again it is in annual and _ herbaceous 
plants alike ΠΝ we find some leafy, some downy. 
All plants again have flowers either of two colours or 
of one; ἘΠΕ of the flowers of trees are of one colour 
and white, that of the pomegranate being almost the 
only one which is red, while that of some almonds is 
reddish. The flower of no other cultivated trees is 
gay nor of two colours, though it may be so with 
some uncultivated? trees, as with the flower of silver- 
fir, for its flower is of catinan colour; and so with 
the flowers of those trees by the ocean which have, 
they say, the colour of roses. 

However, among annuals, most are of this charac- 
ter—their flowers are two-coloured and twofold.? I 
mean by ‘twofold’ that the plant has another 
flower inside the flower, in the middle, as with rose 
lily violet. Some flowers again consist of a single 
‘leaf, 4 having merely an indication of more, as that 
of bindweed.® For in the flower of this the separate 
‘leaves’ are not distinct; nor is it so in the lower 
part of the narcissus,° but there are angular projec- 
tions? from the edges. And the flower of the olive 
is nearly of the same character. 

But there are also differences in the way of growth 
and the position of the flower; some plants have it 


CH BO OLS ey 15. 2500} seed Bo Or eal A 65: 

8 χειρίου conj. Sch., 2.e. narcissus, cf. 6.6.95; χειρίου MSS. 

7 3,6. something resembling separate ‘leaves’ (petals or 
sepals). 


gi 


THEOPHRASTUS 


πεέλος ἐλάα' ἧς καὶ ἀποπίπτοντα διατετρημενα 
φαίνεται, καὶ τοῦτο σημεῖον λαμβάνουσιν εἰ 
καλῶς ἀπήνθηκεν" ἐὰν γὰρ συγκαυθῇ ἢ ἢ βρεχθῇ. 
συναποβάλλει τὸν καρπὸν καὶ οὐ τετρημένον 
γίγνεται" σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ τὰ πολλὰ τῶν «ἀνθῶν"- 
ἐν μέσῳ τὸ περικάρπιον ἔχει, τάχα δὲ καὶ ἐπ᾽ 
αὐτοῦ τοῦ περικαρπίου, καθώπερ poa μελέα ἄπιος 
κοκκυμήλεα μύρρινος, καὶ τῶν γε φρυγανικῶν 
podwvia Kal τὰ πολλὰ τῶν ᾿στεφανωτικῶν' κάτω 
γὰρ ὑπὸ τὸ ἄνθος ἔχει τὰ σπέρματα" φανερώ- 
τατον δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ ῥόδου διὰ τὸν ὄγκον. ἔνια δὲ 
καὶ ἐπ᾿ αὐτῶν τῶν σπερμάτων, ὥσπερ ὁ ἄκανος 
καὶ ὁ κνῆκος καὶ πάντα τὰ ἀκανώδη: καθ᾽ ἕκασ- 
τον γὰρ ἔχει τὸ ἄνθος. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῶν 
ποιωδῶν ἔνια, καθάπερ τὸ ἄνθεμον: ἐν δὲ τοῖς 
λαχανηροῖς ὅ τε σίκυος καὶ ἡ κολοκύντη καὶ ἡ 
/ / x Spe \ n 
σικύα' πάντα yap ἐπὶ τῶν καρπῶν ἔχει. καὶ 
προσαυξανομένων ἐπιμένει τὰ ἄνθη πολὺν χρόνον. 
Ἄλλα δὲ ἰδιωτέρως, οἷον ὁ κιττὸς καὶ ἡ συκά- 
μενος" ἐν αὐτοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἔχει τοῖς ὅλοις περι- 
> \ 33 ΝῈ ἃ 
καρπίοις, οὐ μὴν οὔτε ἐπ᾽ ἄκροις οὔτ᾽. ἐπὶ 
περιειληφύσι καθ᾽ ἕκαστον, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἀνὰ 
μέσον' εἰ μὴ ἄρα οὐ σύνδηλα διὰ τὸ χνοῶδες. 
Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄγονα τῶν ἀνθῶν ἔνια, καθάπερ 
ἐπὶ τῶν σικύων ἃ ἐκ τῶν ἄκρων φύεται τοῦ κλή- 





A Of, 9: 10. 4. 2 Lacuna in text ; ἀνθῶν I conj. 

3 τάχα Ald.; τινα W. after Sch. conj. 

4 ἄἅπιος conj. Bod.; ἄγνος Ald. H. 

> 2,6. composites. 

6 σπερμάτων conj. Dalec. from G3 στομάτων Ald. 

7 &kavos conj. W.; ἄκαρος UV. 

8 ἀκανώδη con}. W.; ἀνθώδη Ald.H. cf. 1. 10. 6; 6. 4. 4. 


92 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. xi. 3-4 


close above the fruit, as vine and olive; in the latter, 
when the flowers drop off, they are seen to have a 
hole through them,! and this men take for a sign 
whether the tree has blossomed well; for if the 
flower is burnt up or sodden, it sheds the fruit along 
with itself, and so there is no hole through it. The 
majority of flowers? have the fruit-case in the middle 
of them, or, it may be,’ the flower is on the top of 
the fruit-case, as in pomegranate apple pear* plum 
and myrtle, and among under-shrubs, in the rose 
and in many of the coronary plants. For these have 
their seeds below, beneath the flower, and this is 
most obvious in the rose because of the size of the 
seed-vessel. In some cases® again the flower is on 
top of the actual seeds,® as in pine-thistle’ safflower 
and all thistle-like® plants; for these have a flower 
attached to each seed. So too with some herba- 
ceous plants, as anthemon, and among pot-herbs, with 
cucumber ® gourd and bottle-gourd ; all these have 
their flowers attached on top of the fruits,!° and the 
Howers persist for a long time while the fruits are 
deve’oping. 

In some other plants the attachment is peculiar, 
as in ivy and mulberry; in these the flower is closely 
attached to the whole" fruit-case; it is not however 
set above it, nor in a seed-vessel that envelops each!” 
separately, but it occurs in the middle part of the 
structure—except that in some cases it is not easily 
recognised because it is downy. 

13 Again some flowers are sterile, as in cucumbers 
those which grow at the ends of the shoot, and that 
9 8 τε σίκυος conj. W.; ὅπερ aixvos UM ; 6 περσίκυος Ald. 

10 καρπῶν conj. Sch.; ἄκρων Ald. H. 
11 4.e. compound, 12 οὔτ᾽ ἐπὶ I conj. for οὐτὲ. 


cy. Arist. Prov. 20: 3: 
93 


THEOPHRASTUS 


x, A \ ᾽ fal ’ 7 , \ \ 
ματος, & ὃ καὶ ἀφαιροῦσιν αὐτά: κωλύει γὰρ THY 
a / / \ \ \ lal / 
τοῦ σικύου βλάστησιν. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τῆς μηλέας 

n -“ ΄ \ ” a “ ef 
τῆς Μηδικῆς ὅσα μὲν ἔχει τῶν ἀνθῶν ὥσπερ 
% “ , ad 2 
ἠλακάτην τινὰ πεφυκυῖαν EK μέσου ταῦτ᾽ εἶναι 
, “ \ \ On LE ESF. > \ \ 
γόνιμα, ὅσα δὲ μὴ ἔχει ταῦτ᾽ ἄγονα. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐπ᾽ 
» Ν lal ’ lal > / 
ἄλλου τινὸς ταῦτα συμβαίνει τῶν ἀνθοφόρων 
ti U , / » / 
ὥστε ἄγονον ἄνθος φύειν εἴτε κεχωρισμένον εἴτε 
/ / \ / lj \ » , 
μή, σκεπτέον. ἐπεὶ γένη γε ἔνια καὶ ἀμπέλου καὶ 
- a lal ’ \ / ἴον 
poas ἀδυνατεῖ τελεοκαρπεῖν, ἀλλὰ μέχρι τοῦ 
/ 
ἄνθους ἡ γένεσις. 
, \ \ , “ Car 7 \ \ 
(Γίνεται δὲ καὶ TO ye τῆς poas ἄνθος πολὺ Kal 
\ ae ee ς > δὴ ‘a e a 
πυκνὸν καὶ ὅλως ὁ ὄγκος πλατὺς ὥσπερ ὁ τῶν 
« / ᾿] « a e \ 
ῥόδων: κάτωθεν δ᾽ ἑτεροῖος: οἷος δίωτος μικρὸς 
¢ » ς / U \ / 
ὥσπερ ἐκτετραμμένος ὁ KUTLVOS ἔχων τὰ χείλη 
μυχώδη.) 
Φ \ δέ Ν a e a \ \ > 6 a 
aol δέ τινες Kal τῶν ὁμογενῶν τὰ μὲν ἀνθεῖν 
Ν » a , \ aN » 
τὰ δ᾽ οὔ, καθάπερ τῶν φοινίκων τὸν μὲν ἄρρενα 
nr \ nan 9 ’ lal \ 
ἀνθεῖν τὸν δὲ θῆλυν οὐκ ἀνθεῖν ἀλλ᾽ εὐθὺ Tpo- 
/ Ν , 
φαίνειν τὸν καρπον. 
rp \ \ > fal ’ tae ΄ \ 
Ta μὲν οὖν TO γένει ταὐτὰ τοιαύτην THY δια- 





1 ὦ 6. the pistil. 

2 2.6. as seen from above: καὶ ὅλων... ῥόδων describes the 
corolla, κάτωθεν. . . μυχώδη the undeveloped ovary, including 
the adherent calyx. 

3 ῥόδων conj. Bod. ; ῥοῶν Ald. 

4 κάτωθεν. . . μυχώδη I conj.; δ᾽ ἕτεροι δι᾽ ὧν ὡς μικρὸν 
ὥσπερ ἐκτετραμμένος κότινος ἔχων τὰ χείλη μυχώδη UMVAId. 
(except that Ald. has ἄνω for χείλη and ἐκτετραμμένον : so 
also P, but ἐκτετραμμένος). The sentence explains incidentally 
why the pomegranate flower was called κύτινος (cf. 2. 6. 12 ; 
OP. 14.45.2799) 3325995 Mosely V1 3 Pin. 2a 110 


94 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 1. xi. 4-5 


is why men pluck them off, for they hinder the 
growth of the cucumber. And they say that in the 
citron those flowers which have a kind of distaff! 
growing in the middle are fruitful, but those that 
have it not are sterile. And we must consider 
whether it occurs also in any other flowering plants 
that they produce sterile flowers, whether apart 
from the fertile flowers or not. For some kinds of 
vine and pomegranate certainly are unable to mature 
their fruit, and do not produce anything beyond the 
flower. 

(The flower of the pomegranate is produced abun- 
dantly and is solid?: in general appearance it is a 
substantial structure with a flat top, like the flower 
of the rose?; but, as seen from below, the inferior 
part of the flower is different-looking, being like a 
little two-eared jar turned on one side and having 
its rim indented.) 

Some say that even of plants of the same kind ° 
some specimens flower while others do not; for 
instance that the ‘male’ date-palm flowers but the 
‘female’ does not, but exhibits its fruit without any 
antecedent flower. 

Such © is the difference which we find between 


and 111), t.e. because it resembled αὶ κύτος (see LS. s.v.). Τ᾽, 
chooses the particular form of jar called δίωτος, because the 


indentations between the sepals suggest this: aha Ssins 


called ἐκτετραμμένος, because the weight of the developing 
fruit causes it to take up at one stage a horizontal position, 
like a jar lying on its side; χείλη refers to the jar (for the 
plural cf. the use of &ytuyes), μυχώδη to the indentations in 
the calyx (a jar having ordinarily an unindented rim). 

5 ὁμογενῶν conj. Sch.; ὁμοιογενῶν Ald. 

6 ταὐτὰ τοιαύτην I conj. from G3 τοιαῦτα τὴν UM ; 
τοιαύτην Ρ. 


95 


2 


THEOPHRASTUS 


j \ ” / Ὁ a \ ΄ 
φορὰν ἔχει, καθάπερ ὅλως ὅσα μὴ δύναται τελεο- 
a ς \ a ΜΚ Α “ / » 
καρπεῖν. ἡ δὲ τοῦ ἄνθους φύσις ὅτι πλείους ἔχει 
\ \ a / 
διαφορὰς φανερὸν ἐκ τῶν προειρημένων. 
\ a ΄ 
XIV. Διαφέρει δὲ τὰ δένδρα καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις 
, \ Ν “ 
κατὰ τὴν καρποτοκίαν' τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ τῶν νέων 
a ’ “ 
βλαστῶν φέρει τὰ δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν ἔνων τὰ δ᾽ ἐξ ἀμφο- 
τέρων. ἐκ μὲν τῶν νέων συκῆ ἄμπελος" ἐκ δὲ τῶν 
»Μ 7 Εν / > n ” ͵ 
ἔνων ἐλάα poa μηλέα ἀμυγδαλῆ ἄπιος μύρρινος 
\ \ a n 
καὶ σχεδὸν τὰ τοιαῦτα πάντα: ἐκ δὲ τῶν νέων 
a a a / 
ἐὰν ἄρα TL συμβῇ κυῆσαι καὶ ἀνθῆσαι (γίνεται 
γὰρ καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἐνίοις, ὥσπερ καὶ τῷ μυρρίνῳ καὶ 
μάλισθ᾽ ὡς εἰπεῖν περὶ τὰς βλαστήσεις τὰς μετ᾽ 
᾿Αρκτοῦρον) οὐ δύναται τελεοῦν ἀλλ᾽ ἡμιγενῆ 
’ὔ, / \ a “ 
φθείρεται" ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων δὲ καὶ τῶν ἔνων καὶ τῶν 
» Yi / a 
νέων εἴ τινες ἄρα μηλέαι τῶν διφόρων ἢ εἴ τι 
A / » \ ¢ ” > I \ 
ἄλλο κάρπιμον: ἔτι δὲ ὁ ὄλυνθος ἐκπέττων καὶ 
a le n / 
σῦκα φέρων ἐκ τῶν νέων. 
2 / \ 6 ᾽ a / » 
Ιδιωτάτη δὲ ἡ ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους ἔκφυσις, 
“ nr > , λ 
ὥσπερ τῆς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ συκαμίνου: ταύτην γάρ 
, fal / \ 
φασι φέρειν ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους" οἱ δὲ ταύτῃ TE καὶ 
an , , δ 
ἐκ τῶν ἀκρεμόνων, ὥσπερ τὴν κερωνίαν: αὕτη γὰρ 
Ae ΄ , \ > / a \ 
Kal ἐκ τούτων φέρει πλὴν OV πολύν' καλοῦσι δὲ 
, > 7 *e \ “ A > / / 
κερωνίαν ap ἧς Ta σῦκα τὰ Αἰγύπτια καλούμενα. 





12.2.6. that, like the ‘female’ date-palm, they have no 
flower. 

2 τοιαῦτα πάντα' ἐκ δὲ τῶν νέων ἐὰν ἄρα τι conj. W. ; τοιαῦτα" 
πάντα γὰρ ἐκ τῶν ἔνων' ἐὰν δὲ ἄρα τι MSS. 

pf) ae Ὁ Ἃ, 

4 διφόρων conj. Sch. from G ; διαφόρων UAId. 


96 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. xu. 5-x1v. 2 


plants of the same kind; and the like may be said! 
in general of those which cannot mature their fruit. 
And it is plain from what has been said that flowers 
shew many differences of character. 


Differences in fruits. 


XIV. Again as to the production of fruit trees 
differ in the following respects. Some bear on their 
new shoots, some on last year’s wood, some on both. 
Fig and vine bear on their new shoots; on last year’s 
wood olive pomegranate apple almond pear myrtle 
and almost all such trees. And, if any of these does? 
happen to conceive and to produce flowers on its new 
shoots, (for this does occur in some cases, as with 
myrtle, and especially, one may say, in the growth 
which is made after the rising of Arcturus)* it can 
not bring them to perfection, but they perish half- 
formed. Some apples again of the twice-bearing ‘ 
kinds and certain other fruit-trees bear both on last 
year’s wood and on the new shoots; and so does the 
olynthos,° which ripens its fruit as well as bearing figs 
on the new shoots. 

Most peculiar is the growth of fruit direct from 
the stem, as in the sycamore; for this, they say, 
bears fruit on the stem. Others say that it bears 
both in this way and © also on the branches, like the 
carob; for the latter bears on the branches too, 
though not abundantly: (the name carob is given to 
the tree which produces what are called ‘ Egyptian 


δ ὄλυνθος is not elsewhere used for a kind of fig: ἔτι δὲ 
συκῆ τοὺς ὀλύνθους ἐκπέττουσα Kal σῦκα φέρουσα conj. Sch. 
somewhat drastically. 

ὁ ταύτῃ τε καὶ ἐκ conj. W.; ταύτης μὲν ἐκ UMVAId. cf. 
4, 2. 4. 


97 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἔστι δὲ Kal τὰ μὲν ἀκρόκαρπα τῶν δένδρων Kat 
ὅλως τῶν φυτῶν τὰ δὲ πλαγιόκαρπα τὰ δ᾽ ἀμφο- 
τερως. πλείω δ᾽ ἀκρόκαρπα τῶν ἄλλων ἢ τῶν 
δένδρων, οἷον τῶν τε σιτηρῶν τὰ σταχυώδη καὶ 
τῶν θαμνωδῶν ἐρείκη καὶ σπειραία καὶ ἄγνος καὶ 
ἄλλ᾽ ἄττα καὶ τῶν λαχανωδῶν τὰ κεφαλόρριζα. 
ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων δὲ καὶ τῶν δένδρων ἔνια καὶ τῶν 
λαχανωδῶν, οἷον βλίτον ἀδράφαξυς ῥάφανος" 
ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐλάα ποιεῖ πως τοῦτο, καί φασιν ὅταν 
ἄκρον ἐνέγκῃ σημεῖον εὐφορίας εἶναι. ἀκρό- 
καρπος δέ πως καὶ ὁ φοῖνιξ' πλὴν τοῦτό γε καὶ 
ἀκρόφυλλον καὶ ἀκρόβλαστον' ὅλως γὰρ ἐν τῷ 
ἄνω πᾶν τὸ ζωτικόν. τὰς μὲν οὖν κατὰ «τὰ;» 
μέρη διαφορὰς πειρατέον ἐκ τούτων θεωρεῖν. 

Αἱ δὲ τοιαῦται τῆς ὅλης οὐσίας φαίνονται" δῆλον 
ὅτι τὰ μὲν ἥμερα τὰ δ᾽ ἄγρια" καὶ τὰ μὲν κάρπιμα 
τὰ δ᾽ ἄκαρπα' καὶ ἀείφυλλα καὶ φυλλοβολα, 
καθάπερ ἐλέχθη, τὰ δ᾽ ὅλως ἄφυλλα: καὶ τὰ μὲν 
ἀνθητικὰ τὰ δ᾽ avav0y καὶ πρωϊβλαστῆ δὲ καὶ 
πρωΐκαρπα τὰ δὲ ὀψιβλαστῆ καὶ ὀψίκαρπα' 
ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ὅσα παραπλήσια τούτοις. και 
πως τάγε τοιαῦτα ἐν τοῖς μέρεσιν ἢ οὐκ ἄνευ τῶν 
μερῶν ἐστιν. ἀλλ᾽ ἐκείνη ἰδιωτάτη καὶ τροπόν τινα 
μεγίστη διάστασις, ἥπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων, ὅτι τὰ 
μὲν ἔνυδρα τὰ δὲ χερσαῖα: καὶ γὰρ τῶν φυτῶν 


. Pin? 162 ΤΣ 
2 τοῦτο conj. Sch.; τούτου UAId. ; τοῦτον Μ. 
+ τὰ 5800: ἣν; ΟΝ. 1 1.0 1: 


98 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. xiv. 2-3 


figs’). 1 Again some trees, and some plants in general, 
produce fruit at the top, others at the sides, others in 
both ways. But bearing fruit at the top is less 
common in trees than in other plants, as among 
grains in those which have an ear, among shrubby 
plants in heath privet chaste tree and certain others, 
and among pot-herbs in those with ἃ bulbous 
root. Among plants which bear both on the top 
and at the sides are certain trees and certain pot- 
herbs, as blite orach cabbage. I say trees, since 
the olive does this too in a way, and they say that, 
when it bears at the top, it is a sign of fruitfulness. 
The date-palm too bears at the top, in a sense, but 
this 2 tree also has its leaves and shoots at the top; 
indeed it is in the top that its whole activity is 
seen. Thus we must endeavour to study in the 
light of the instances mentioned the differences seen 
in the ® various parts of the plant. 


General differences (affecting the whole plant). 

But there appear to be the following differences 
which affect the plant’s whole being: some are culti- 
vated, some wild; some fruitful, some barren ; some 
evergreen, some deciduous, as was said, while some 
again have no leaves at all ; some are flowering plants, 
some flowerless; some are early,some late in producing 
their shoots and fruits; and there are other differences 
similar to these. Now it may be said that* such 
differences are seen in the parts, or at least that 
particular parts are concerned in them. But the 
special, and in a way the most important distinction 
is one which may be seen in animals too, namely, 
that some are of the water, some of the land. For 


4 καί πως τά γε τοιαῦτα Conj. Sch. ; καὶ wav τά γε ταῦτα U ; 
καὶ τά γε τοιαῦτα Ald, 


99 


THEOPHRASTUS 


y a / a ’ , ΄ \ 
ἔστι TL τοιοῦτον γένος ὃ οὐ δύναται φύεσθαι <p> 
> e lal \ \ / / > Ὡ \ > \ 
ἐν ὑγρῷ" τὰ δὲ φύεται μέν, οὐχ ὅμοια δὲ ἀλλὰ 
χείρω. πάντων δὲ τῶν δένδρων ὡς ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν 
\ “ La) "» / , ae 
Kal τῶν φυτῶν εἴδη πλείω τυγχάνει καθ᾽ ἕκαστον 
/ \ \ > / > ¢ a) > a) er. 
4 γένος" σχεδὸν yap οὐδέν ἐστιν ἁπλοῦν" ἀλλ᾽ ὅσα 
μὲν ἥμερα καὶ ἄγρια λέγεται ταύτην ἐμφανε- 
, “- 
στάτην καὶ μεγίστην ἔχει διαφοράν, οἷον συκῆ 
ἐρινεός, ἐλάα κότινος, ἄπιος ἀχράς" ὅσα δ᾽ ἐν 
ἑκατέρῳ τούτων τοῖς καρποῖς τε καὶ φύλλοις καὶ 
lal BA “ \ ἴω tf , x 
ταῖς ἄλλαις μορφαῖς τε καὶ τοῖς μορίοις. ἀλλὰ 
τῶν μὲν ἀγριων ἀνώνυμα τὰ πλεῖστα καὶ ἔμπειροι 
ὀλίγοι: τῶν δὲ ἡμέρων καὶ ὠνομασμένα τὰ πλείω 
Ve y / / ? ἦ᾿ ΕῚ , 
καὶ ἡ αἴσθησις κοινοτέρα: λέγω δ᾽ οἷον ἀμπέλου 
συκῆς poas μηλέας ἀπίου δάφνης μυρρίνης τῶν 
ἄλλων: ἡ γὰρ χρῆσις οὖσα κοινὴ συνθεωρεῖν 
a) \ 
ποιεῖ τὰς διαφοράς. 
᾽ oat 4 
56 Ἴδιον δὲ καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἐφ᾽ ἑκατέρων' τὰ μὲν yap 
” A SF \ an / Ἃ , xX / 
ἄγρια TO ἄρρενι καὶ τῷ θήλει ἢ μόνοις ἢ μάλιστα 
a \ Nae / 207 * \ 
διαιροῦσι, τὰ δὲ ἥμερα πλείοσιν ἰδέαις. ἔστι δὲ 
a \ en a Ν a \ ” 
τῶν μὲν ῥᾷον λαβεῖν καὶ διαριθμῆσαι τὰ εἴδη, 
τῶν δὲ χαλεπώτερον διὰ τὴν πολυχοΐαν. 
᾿Αλλὰ δὴ τὰς μὲν τῶν μορίων διαφορὰς καὶ τῶν 
ἄλλων οὐσιῶν ἐκ τούτων πειρατέον θεωρεῖν. περὶ 
“ / fa) a 
δὲ τῶν γενέσεων μετὰ ταῦτα λεκτέον: τοῦτο γὰρ 
ὥσπερ ἐφεξῆς τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἐστίν. 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, I. xiv. 3-5 


of plants too there is a class which cannot grow 
except! in moisture, while others will indeed grow 
on dry land, but they lose their character and are 
inferior. Again of all trees, one might almost say, 
and of all plants there are several forms to each kind ; 
for hardly any kind contains but a single form. But 
the plants which are called respectively cultivated 
and wild shew this difference in the clearest and 
most emphatic way, for instance the cultivated and 
wild forms of fig olive and pear. In each of these 
pairs there are differences in fruit and leaves, and in 
their forms and parts generally. But most of the 
wild kinds have no names and few know about them, 
while most of the cultivated kinds have received 
names? and they are more commonly observed; | 
mean such plants as vine fig pomegranate apple pear 
bay myrtle and so forth ; for, as many people make 
use of them, they are led also to study the differences. 

But there is this peculiarity as to the two classes 
respectively ; in the wild kinds men find only or 
chiefly the distinction of ‘male’ and ‘female,’ while 
in the cultivated sorts they recognise a number of 
distinguishing features. In the former case it is 
easy to mark and count up the different forms, in the 
latter it is harder because the points of difference are 
numerous. 

However we have said enough for study of the 
differences between parts and between general 
characters. We must now speak of the methods of 
growth, for this subject comes naturally after what 
has been said. 

1 μὴ add. W. 


2 ὠνουασμένα τὰ πλείω Conj. Sch.; ὠνομασμένων πλείω Ald. 


IOI 


a or Anon ho oa γὴν eee 


pap νὰ ἢ ὌΝΟΝ λα 


εν Wha bibl 
Hoty Hight | af | 















; aioe 
᾿ ἜΝ, 
sb! peers τανε γᾷ add Seite ρα Waid 
Tae aie a renin (Qi ng. ue 

iin lahat 


eee ene, ἫΝ Te ad ἜΝ 


νὰ ὯΝ δὴν ψν na ἢ 
pnd ta waa bik Rik ματα τσ 
UT ΟΠ ]Πὴ Aeon 

ΜΗ. πο, ων whe ᾿ Ps) als | Ai) ὯΝ Gi εἶδον ee 
ἡ ἢ δ ΠΣ phat ‘ete vistas oud te. dibvdy af WP) 
ΕΗ να ΠΣ Νὰ hela ΝΗ 
a tH ἰπρκον aunty as shit: δὴ ioe | 
ach ab Keeney, Men anette Men) 9s TETRA Mie cil 
plutei alle Oak εὐ δ nie νη ALN te EGE “iat 
ΩΝ wets ahd Ἧ an ey) he CT AVE Ae ene, 
ny) Mr Mui Νὰ eee a4 lly eel): cpl show ont 
ΩΝ ΔΕ Dalle ae Ty ANON A Bees 
en allan ἴω; maroon wip geval abate | Plaine ἐδ ae 
en reir, μα μὰ ἣν Ἡ ΑΝ τ ee 
7 0} ae Topeags a Ue a 
hi ὙΠ ist i este Αἰ ὦ grit ὅδ ee 4) ΤΠ 
ΑΝ bee: hid ΡΣ Ra δἰ 7 
Welt At an νύν haba? Sagal Bl cant ράσο 
Raat) rai nt EE: ΡΣ ᾿ danger: 
eh Pe ΠΝ ΑΝ ὩΣ 
ἡ» ἦν! aed te evaie ROOD ἌΠ τὰ on 
” ΠῚ ae mite op 


κ- ann - a 
fA wie) pa gbaci δὰ + AOR) προ Aree ὧν aie 


at 


; ᾿ ; "δ" 
Ἰ γ᾿ Π ; Ἱ 
γε ἽΝ Wi ᾿ Sy Ν᾿ 
᾿ Ι 4 7 ray if 
᾿ Ἵ ᾿ ᾿ ᾿ 
| " ᾿ a i 


BOOK II 


B 


I. Αἱ γενέσεις τῶν δένδρων καὶ ὅλως τῶν 
a 3 ’ 3 \ > 
φυτῶν ἢ αὐτόμαται ἢ ἀπὸ σπέρματος ἢ ἀπὸ 
c/s nx > \ / vA » Ν > / Δ 
ῥίζης ἢ ἀπὸ παρασπάδος ἢ ἀπὸ ἀκρεμόνος ἢ 
> Ν \ XK >’ 5 > an na 7 ᾿- / xX 
ἀπὸ κλωνὸς ἢ ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τοῦ στελέχους εἰσίν, ἢ 
ἔτι τοῦ ξύλου κατακοπέντος εἰς μικρά" καὶ γὰρ 
¢ , Mh \ / 
οὕτως ἔνια φύεται. τούτων δὲ ἡ μὲν αὐτόματος 
, af \ » \ / Acer 
πρώτη τις, αἱ δὲ ἀπὸ σπέρματος καὶ ῥίζης φυσι- 
/ 7 ec \ / ‘ 
κώταται δόξαιεν av: ὥσπερ γὰρ αὐτόμαται καὶ 
᾽ , > A \ A > , ε , e ay 
αὐταί: δι’ ὃ Kal τοῖς ἀγρίοις ὑπάρχουσιν" αἱ δὲ 
” / x \ / 
ἄλλαι τέχνης ἢ δὴ προαιρέσεως. 
“ \ / / lal Ι 
Απαντα δὲ βλαστάνει κατά τινα τῶν τρόπων 
΄ \ \ 
τούτων, τὰ δὲ πολλὰ κατὰ πλείους: ἐλάα μὲν 

\ ΄ ΄ὔ \ ak Ὁ a , ᾽ 
γὰρ πάντως φύεται πλὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ κλωνός" οὐ 
γὰρ δύναται καταπηγνυμένη, καθάπερ ἡ συκῆ 

a / \ td τ “ CP 2 / , 

τῆς κράδης καὶ ἡ poa τῆς ῥάβδου. καίτοι φασί 
/ \ / ’ 

γέ τινες ἤδη καὶ χάρακος παγείσης καὶ πρὸς τὸν 

κιττὸν συμβιῶσαι καὶ γενέσθαι δένδρον: ἀλλὰ 

΄ , \ A ΄ \ \ \ = 

σπάνιόν τι τὸ τοιοῦτον: θάτερα δὲ τὰ πολλὰ τῆς 

7, an \ \ \ ” ’ 

φύσεως. συκῆ δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους τρόπους 


1 ἔνια φύεται conj. Sch.; ἀναφύεται Ald. 


104 





BOOK II 


Or PROPAGATION, ESPECIALLY OF TREES: 


Of the ways in which trees and plants originate. Instances of 
degeneration from seed. 

I. Tue ways in which trees and plants in general 
originate are these :—spontaneous growth, growth 
from seed, from a root, from a piece torn off, from a 
branch or twig, from the trunk itself; or again from 
small pieces into which the wood is cut up (for some 
trees can be produced! even in this manner). Of 
these methods spontaneous growth comes first, one 
may say, but growth from seed or root would seem 
most natural; indeed these methods too may be 
called spontaneous; wherefore they are found even 
in wild kinds, while the remaining methods depend 
on human skill or at least on human choice. 

However all plants start in one or other of these 
ways, and most of themin more thanone. Thus the 
olive is grown in all the ways mentioned, except 
from a twig; for an olive-twig will not grow if it is 
set in the ground, as a fig or pomegranate will grow 
from their young shoots. Not but what some say 
that cases have been known in which, when a stake 
of olive-wood was planted to support ivy, it actually 
lived along with it and became a tree; but such 
an instance is a rare exception, while the other 
methods of growth are in most cases the natural 
ones. The fig grows in all the ways mentioned, 


105 


THEOPHRASTUS 


φύεται πάντας, ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν πρέμνων Kal τῶν 
ξύλων οὐ φύεται: μηλέα δὲ καὶ ἄπιος καὶ ἀπὸ 
τῶν ἀκρεμόνων σπανίως. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τά γε 
πολλὰ ἢ πάνθ᾽ ὡς εἰπεῖν ἐνδέχεσθαι δοκεῖ καὶ 
ἀπὸ τούτων, ἐὰν λεῖοι καὶ νέοι καὶ εὐαυξεῖς Mow. 
ἀλλὰ φυσικώτεραί πως ἐκεῖναι" τὸ δὲ ἐνδεχόμενον 
ὡς δυνατὸν ληπτέον. 

Ὅλως γὰρ ὀλίγα τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν ἄνω μᾶλλον 
βλαστάνοντα καὶ γεννώμενα, καθάπερ ἄμπελος 
ἀπὸ τῶν κλημάτων" αὕτη γὰρ οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς 
πρώρας ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ τοῦ κλήματος φύεται, καὶ εἰ δή 
TL τοιοῦτον ἕτερον ἢ δένδρον ἢ ἢ φρυγανῶδες, ὥ ὥσπερ 
δοκεῖ TO τε πήγανον καὶ ἡ ἐωνία καὶ τὸ σισύμ- 
βριον καὶ ὁ ἕρπυλλος καὶ τὸ ἑλένιον. κοινοτάτη 
μὲν οὖν ἐστὶ πᾶσιν ἥ τε ἀπὸ τῆς παρασπάδος καὶ 
ἀπὸ σπέρματος. ἅπαντα γὰρ ὅσα ἔχει σπέρματα 
καὶ ἀπὸ σπέρματος γίνεται: ἀπὸ δὲ παρασπάδος 
καὶ τὴν δάφνην φασίν, ἐάν τις τὰ ἔρνη παρελὼν 
φυτεύσῃ. δεῖ δὲ ὑπόρριξον εἶναι μάλιστά γε τὸ 
παρασπώμενον ἢ ὑπόπρεμνον. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ 
ἄνευ τούτου θέλει βλαστάνειν καὶ ῥόα καὶ μηλέα 
ἐαρινή: βλαστάνει δὲ καὶ ἀμυγδαλῆ φυτευομένη. 
κατὰ πλείστους δὲ τρόπους ὡς εἰπεῖν ἡ ἐλάα 
βλαστάνει' καὶ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ στελέχους καὶ ἀπὸ 
τοῦ πρέμνου κατακοπτομένου καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς pitns 
[καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου] καὶ ἀπὸ ῥάβδου καὶ χάρακος 
ὥσπερ, εἴρηται. τῶν δ᾽ ἄλλων ὁ μύρρινος: καὶ 
γὰρ οὗτος ἀπὸ τῶν ξύλων καὶ τῶν πρέμνων 





1 χά γε πολλὰ πάνθ᾽ conj. Sch.; ἢ before πάνθ᾽ ins. St.; τά 
τε πολλὰ πάνθ᾽ Ald. 

2 εὐαυξεῖς conj. H; αὐξεῖς UMVAId. 

3. οὐκ I conj.; οὐδ᾽ MSS. 


106 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. 1. 2-4 


except from root-stock and cleft wood; apple and 
pear grow also from branches, but rarely. However 
it appears that most, if not practically all,! trees may 
grow from branches, if these are smooth young and 
vigorous.2, But the other methods, one may say, are 
more natural, and we must reckon what may 
occasionally occur as a mere possibility. 

In fact there are quite few plants which grow and 
are brought into being more easily from the upper 
parts, as the vine is grown from branches ; for this, 
though it cannot? be grown from the ‘head,’ * yet 
can be grown from the branch, as can all similar 
trees and under-shrubs, for instance, as it appears, 
rue gilliflower bergamot-mint tufted thyme cala- 
mint. So the commonest ways of growth with all 
plants are from a piece torn off or from seed ; for all 
plants that have seeds grow also from seed. And 
they say that the bay too grows® from a piece 
torn off, if one takes off the young shoots and plants 
them; but it is necessary that the piece torn off 
should have part of the root or stock ® attached to it. 
However the pomegranate and ‘ spring apple’? will 
grow even without this, and a slip of almond ὃ grows 
if it is planted. The olive grows, one may say, in 
more ways than any other plant; it grows from a 
piece of the trunk or of the stock,? from the root, 
from a twig, and from a stake, as has been said.!° Of 
other plants the myrtle also can be propagated in 
several ways; for this too grows from pieces of wood 


4 πρώρας, cf. Col. 3.10. 1, caput vitis vocat πρώραν. Sch. 
restores the word, C.P. 3. 14. 7. 

ao) ΟΞ 5.0. 6 2,6. a ‘heel’ (Lat. ρεγπα). 

7 of. CP. 2.11. 6; Athen. 3. 23. 5 cf. Geop. 10. 3. 9. 

9 καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου Om. Julius Pontedeva on Varro 1. 39. 3: 
a gloss on ἀπὸ τοῦ πρέμνου κατακ. fou 10 0. 


107 


THEOPHRASTUS 


φύεται. δεῖ δὲ καὶ τούτου καὶ τῆς ἐλάας τὰ ξύλα 
διαιρεῖν μὴ ἐλάττω σπιθαμιαίων καὶ τὸν φλοιὸν 
μὴ περιαιρεῖν. 

ὰ μὲν οὖν δένδρα βλαστάνει καὶ γίνεται κατὰ 
τοὺς εἰρημένους τρόπους" αἱ γὰρ ἐμφυτεῖαι καὶ 
οἱ ἐνοφθαλμισμοὶ καθάπερ μίξεις τινές εἰσιν 
ἢ κατ᾽ ἄλλον τρόπον γενέσεις, περὶ ὧν ὕστερον 
λεκτέον. 

I. Τῶν δὲ φρυγανωδῶν και ποιωδῶν τὰ μὲν 
πλεῖστα ἀπὸ σπέρματος. ἢ pitns τὰ δὲ και 
ἀμφοτέρως" ἔνια δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν βλαστῶν, ὥ ὥσπερ 
εἴρηται. ῥοδωνία δὲ καὶ κρινωνία κατακοπέντων 
τῶν καυλῶν, ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ ἄγρωστις. φύεται δὲ 
ἡ κρινωνία καὶ ἡ ῥοδωνία καὶ ὅλου τοῦ καυλοῦ 
τεθέντος. ἰδιωτάτη δὲ ἡ ἀπὸ δακρύου' καὶ γὰρ 
οὕτω δοκεῖ τὸ κρίνον φύεσθαι, ὅταν ξηρανθῇ τὸ 
ἀπορρυέν. φασὶ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἱπποσελίνου" 
καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο ἀφίησι δάκρυον. φύεται δέ τις 
καὶ κάλαμος, ἐάν τις διατέμνων τὰς ἠλακάτας 
πλαγίας τιθῇ καὶ κατακρύψῃ κόπρῳ καὶ γῇ. 
ἰδίως δὲ ἀπὸ ῥίζης [τῷ] φύεσθαι καὶ τὰ κεφα- 
λόρριζα. 

Τοσαυταχῶς δὲ οὔσης τῆς δυνάμεως τὰ μὲν 
πολλὰ τῶν δένδρων, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη πρότερον, ἐν 
πλείοσι τρόποις φύεται" ἔνια δὲ ἀπὸ σπέρματος 





1 ἐμφυτεῖαι conj. R. Const.; ἐμφυλέαι (with erasures) U; 
ἐμφυλείαι V; ἐμφυλεῖαι Ald. 
22.1. θοῦ CaP. lia and δ. 
34.6. bulbile ¢f.:6.'6. 8 3 9094 ΣΟ. 154.16 ;{Plinj 21; 24. 
4 ἐπὶ conj. W.; ἀπὸ P,Ald. 
5 δέ τις καὶ Ald,; τις om. W. after Sch, 


108 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. 1. 4-1. 2 


and also from pieces of the stock. It is necessary 
however with this, as with the olive, to cut up the 
wood into pieces not less than a span long and not to 
strip off the bark. 

Trees then grow and come into being in the above- 
mentioned ways; for as to methods of grafting! and 
inoculation, these are, as it were, combinations of 
different kinds of trees; or at all events these are 
methods of growth of a quite different class and 
must be treated of at a later stage. 

II. Of under-shrubs and herbaceous plants the 
greater part grow from seed or a root, and some in 
both ways; some of them also grow from cuttings, 
as has been said,? while roses and lilies grow from 
pieces of the stems, as also does dog’s-tooth grass. 
Lilies and roses also grow when the whole stem is 
set. Most peculiar is the method of growth from an 
exudation?; for it appears that the lily grows in 
this way too, when the exudation that has been 
produced has dried up. They say the same οἵ 
alexanders, for this too produces an _ exudation. 
There is a certain ὃ reed also which grows if one cuts 
it in lengths from joint to joint and sets them ὅ 
sideways, burying it in dung and soil. Again they 
say that plants which have a bulbous root are 
peculiar in their way of growing’ from the root. 

The capacity for growth being shewn in so many 
ways, most trees, as was said before,’ originate in 
several ways; but some come? only from seed, as silver- 

6 cof. 1. 4.4; Plin. 17. 145; Col. 4. 32. 2; 7:69 conj. Sch.; 
ἢ Ald.; 3 θῇ. 

1,6. by offset bulbs. Text probably defective; cf. C.P. 
[et cera hs oe aro 1 Tt 

9 φύεται I conj.; φησὶν ἐστιν or φασίν ἐστιν MSS.; ὡς φασίν 
ἐστιν Ald.; παραγίνεται conj. W. 


109 


THEOPHRASTUS 


φύεται μονον, οἷον ἐλάτη πεύκη πίτυς ὅλως πᾶν 
τὸ κωνοφόρον" ἔτι δὲ καὶ φοῖνιξ, πλὴν εἰ ἄρα ἐν 
Βαβυλῶνι καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ῥάβδων [ὥς] φασί τινες 
μολεύειν. κυπάριττος δὲ παρὰ μὲν τοῖς ἄλλοις 
ἀπὸ σπέρματος, ἐν Κρήτῃ δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ στελέ- 
χους, οἷον ἐπὶ τῆς ὀρείας ἐν Tappa παρὰ τούτοις 
γάρ ἐστιν ἡ κουριξομένη κυπάριττος" αὕτη δὲ ἀ ἀπὸ 
τῆς τομῆς βλαστάνει πάντα τρόπον πεμνομένη 
καὶ ἀπὸ γῆς καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ μέσου καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνω- 
τέρω: βλαστάνει δὲ ἐνιαχοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν 
σπανίως δέ. 

Περὶ δὲ δρυὸς ἀμφισβητοῦσιν' οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ 
σπέρματός φασι μόνον, οἱ δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ ῥίξης 
γλίσχρως" οἱ δὲ καὶ ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τοῦ στελέχους 
κοπέντος. ἀπὸ παρασπάδος δὲ καὶ ῥίζης οὐδὲν 
φύεται τῶν μὴ παραβλαστανόντων. 

“Απάντων δὲ ὅσων πλείους αἱ γενέσεις, ἡ ἀπο 
παρασπάδος καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον. ἡ ἀπὸ παραφυάδος 
ταχίστη καὶ εὐαυξής, ἐὰν ἀπὸ ῥίξης ἡ ἡ παραφυὰς 
ἧς, καὶ, τὰ μὲν οὕτως ἢ ὅλως ἀπὸ φυτευτηρίων 
πεφυτευμένα πάντα δοκεῖ τοὺς καρποὺς ἐξομοιοῦν. 
ὅσα δ᾽ ἀπὸ τοῦ καρποῦ τῶν δυναμενων καὶ οὕτως 
βλαστάνειν, ἅπανθ᾽ ὡς εἰπεῖν χείρω, τὰ δὲ καὶ 
ὅλως ἐξίσταται τοῦ γένους, οἷον ἄμπελος μηλέα 
συκῆ ῥοιὰ ἄπιος" ἔκ τε γὰρ τῆς κεγχραμίδος οὐδὲν 
γίνεται γένος ὅλως ἥμερον, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἐρινεὸς ἢ 
ἀγρία συκῆ, διαφέρουσα πολλάκις καὶ τῇ χροίᾳ' 
καὶ γὰρ ἐκ μελαίνης λευκὴ καὶ ἐκ λευκῆς μέλαινα 





1 μολεύειν conj. Sch.; μωλύειν MSS.; μοσχεύειν conj. R. 
Const. (cf. C.P. 1.2 1). But cf. Hesych. 8.v. μολεύειν. 
ΞΡ π: 10. 141. 8 ἐπὶ conj. W.; τὸ UMVAId. 


Ilo 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. τι. 2-4 


fir fir Aleppo pine, and in general all those that bear 
cones: also the date-palm, except that in Babylon it 
may be that, as some say, they take cuttings! from 
it. The cypress in most regions grows from seed, 
but in Crete? from the trunk also, for instance in? 
the hill country about Tarra; for there grows the 
cypress which they clip, and when cut it shoots in 
every possible way, from the part which has been cut, 
from the ground, from the middle, and from the 
upper parts; and occasionally, but rarely, it shoots 
from the roots also. 

About the oak accounts differ; some say it only 
grows from seed, some from the root also, but not 
vigorously, others again that it grows from the trunk 
itself, when this is cut. But no tree grows from a 
piece torn off or from a root except those which 
make side-growths. 

However in all the trees which have several 
methods of originating the quickest method and that 
which promotes the most vigorous growth is from a 
piece torn off, or still better from a sucker, if this is 
taken from the root. And, while all the trees which 
are propagated thus or by some kind of slip4 seem to 
be alike in their fruits to the original tree, those raised 
from the fruit, where this method of growing is also 
possible, are nearly all inferior, while some quite lose 
the character of their kind, as vine apple fig pome- 
granate pear. As for the fig,° no cultivated kind is 
raised from its seed, but either the ordinary wild fig 
or some wild kind is the result, and this often 
differs in colour from the parent; a black fig gives a 


p 


bof. ΟΡ. 1. 9. 
11Ὶ 


THEOPHRASTUS 


lal an , 
γίνεται" ἔκ Te τῆς ἀμπέλου τῆς γενναίας ἀγεννής" 

\ / “ / SEN \ e >O\ 
Kal πολλάκις ἕτερον γένος: ὁτὲ δὲ ὅλως οὐδὲν 
ἥμερον ἀλλ᾽ ἄγριον ἐνίοτε καὶ τοιοῦτον ὥστε μὴ 
ἐκπέττειν τὸν καρπόν" αἱ δ᾽ ὥστε μηδὲ ἁδρύνειν 
ἀλλὰ μέχρι τοῦ ἀνθῆσαι μόνον ἀφικνεῖσθαι. 

Φύονται δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν τῆς ἐλάας πυρήνων 
ἀγριέλαιος, καὶ ἐκ τῶν τῆς ῥόας κόκκων τῶν 
γλυκέων ἀγεννεῖς, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀπυρήνων σκληραί, 

/ \ \ ’ an ἃς > \ \ ΄ 
πολλάκις δὲ καὶ ὀξεῖαι. τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον 
καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀπίων καὶ ἐκ τῶν “μηλέων' ἐκ μὲν γὰρ 
τῶν ἀπίων μοχθηρὰ ἡ ἀχράς, ἐκ δὲ τῶν μηλέων 
χείρων τε τῷ γένει καὶ ἐκ γλυκείας ὀξεῖα, καὶ ἐκ 
στρουθίου Κυδώνιος. χείρων. δὲ καὶ ἡ ἀμυγδαλῆ 
καὶ τῷ χυλῷ καὶ τῷ σκληρὰ ἐκ μαλακῆς" δι᾽ ὃ 
καὶ αὐξηθεῖσαν ἐγκεντρίζειν κελεύουσιν, εἰ δὲ μὴ 
τὸ μόσχευμα μεταφυτεύειν πολλάκις. 

Χείρων δὲ καὶ ἡ δρῦς: ἀπὸ γοῦν THS ἐν Πύρρᾳ 
πολλοὶ φυτεύσαντες οὐκ ἐδύνανθ᾽ ὁμοίαν ποιεῖν. 
δάφνην δὲ καὶ μυρρίνην διαφέρειν ποτέ φασιν, ὡς 
ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ δ᾽ ἐξίστασθαι καὶ οὐδὲ τὸ χρῶμα 

΄ > ’ > > lal lal 
διασώζειν, arr ἐξ ἐρυθροῦ καρποῦ γίνεσθαι 

/ Ψ \ \ > > / ΄ 
μέλαιναν, ὥσπερ καὶ τὴν ἐν ᾿Αντάνδρῳ: πολλάκις 

\ / 
δὲ καὶ τὴν κυπάριττον ἐκ θηλείας ἄρρενα. 
μάλιστα δὲ τούτων ὁ φοῖνιξ δοκεῖ διαμένειν 
ὥσπερ εἰπεῖν τελείως τῶν ἀπὸ σπέρματος, καὶ 
πεύκη ἡ κωνοφόρος καὶ πίτυς ἡ φθειροποιός. 
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐν τοῖς ἡμερωμένοις. ἐν δὲ τοῖς 


1 ᾿ φύονται conj. W.; φυτευονται Ald.H.; φύεται Vo.cod.Cas. 
2 yAuKéwy Con]. St.; γλαυκίων UMVAIa. 

3 cf. Athen. 3. 20 and 23. iia cel OA sta) Wak al 

6’ In Lesbos: cf. 3. 9. & ΟΡ. ὩΣ 


112 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. u. 4-6 


white, and conversely. Again the seed of an excel- 
lent vine produces a degenerate result, which is 
often of quite a different kind; and at times this is 
not a cultivated kind at all, but a wild one of such a 
character that it does not ripen its fruit; with others 
again the result is that the seedlings do not even 
mature fruit, but only get as far as flowering. 

Again the stones of the olive give! a wild olive, 
and the seeds of a sweet pomegranate? give a 
degenerate kind, while the stoneless kind gives a 
hard sort and often an acid fruit. So also is it with 
seedlings of pears and apples ; pears give a poor sort 
of wild pears, apples produce an inferior kind which is 
acid instead of sweet; quince produces wild quince.* 
Almond again raised from seed is inferior in taste and 
in being hard instead of soft; and this is why men ἢ 
bid us graft on to the almond, even when it is fully 
grown, or, failing that, frequently plant the offsets. 

The oak also deteriorates from seed; at least 
many persons having raised trees from acorns of the 
oak at Pyrrha® could not produce one like the 
parent tree. On the other hand they say that bay 
and myrtle sometimes improve by seeding, though 
usually they degenerate and do not even keep their 
colour, but red fruit gives black—-as happened with 
ihe tree in Antandros; and frequently seed of a 
‘female ’ cypress produces a ‘ male’ tree. The date- 
valm seems to be about the most constant of these 
trees, when raised from seed, and also the ‘ cone- 
bearing pine’® (stone-pine) and the ‘lice-bearing 
pine.’? So much for degeneration in cultivated trees; 
among wild kinds it is plain that more in proportion 


7 Plin. 16.49. The ‘lice’ are the seeds which were eaten. 
cf. Hdt. 4. 109, φθειροτραγέουσι ; Theocr. 5. 49. 


113 


9 


THEOPHRASTUS 


> lal 4 \ ’ « > 
ἀγριοις δῆλον OTL TAELW κατὰ λόγον ὡς ἰσχυρο- 
Ν 
τέροις" ἐπεὶ θάτερόν γε καὶ ἄτοπον, εἰ δὴ χείρω 
, δ an \ / 
καὶ ἐν ἐκείνοις Kal ὅλως ἐν τοῖς ἀπὸ σπέρματος 
μόνον: εἰ μή τι τῇ θεραπείᾳ δύνανται μετα- 
βάλλειν. 
/ δὲ \ , / \ > ἌΝ, 
Διαφέρουσι ὃὲ καὶ τόποι τόπων καὶ ἀὴρ ἀέρος" 
ἐνιαχοῦ γὰρ ἐκφέρειν ἡ χώρα δοκεῖ τὰ ὅμοια, 
, NUNS: ,ὕ > , δ \ 
καθάπερ καὶ ἐν Φιλίπποις: ἀνάπαλιν ὀλίγα Kal 
᾽ a ΄ / Ὁ“ > / 
ὀλιγαχοῦ λαμβάνειν μεταβολήν, ὥστε EK σπέρ- 
ματος ἀγρίου ποιεῖν ἥμερον ἢ ἐκ χείρονος ἁπλῶς 
a n / / 
βέλτιον: τοῦτο yap ἐπὶ τῆς poas μόνον ἀκηκόαμεν 
? ? 7 Ni > / / bd 
ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ ἐν Κιλικίᾳ συμβαίνειν: ἐν 
> , \ \ \ > an \ an \ 
Αἰγύπτῳ μὲν yap τὴν ὀξεῖαν καὶ σπαρεῖσαν καὶ 
an “Ὁ / 
φυτευθεῖσαν γλυκεῖαν γίνεσθαί πως ἢ οἰνώδη" 
Ν \ / a / Ἂς \ \ 
περὶ δὲ Σόλους τῆς Κιλικίας περὶ ποταμὸν τὸν 
Πίναρον, οὗ ἡ μάχη πρὸς Δαρεῖον ἐγένετο, πᾶσαι 
γίνονται ἀπύρηνοι. 
” δὲ \ Μ \ ’ e a / 
Εὔλογον δὲ καὶ εἴ τις τὸν Tap ἡμῶν φοίνικα 
’ > [οἱ / 4 / \ 
φυτεύοι ἐν Βαβυλῶνι, κάρπιμόν τε γίνεσθαι Kai 
ἐξομοιοῦσθαι τοῖς ἐκεῖ. τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον καὶ 
εἴ τις ἑτέρα προσάλληλον ἔχει καρπὸν τόπῳ" 
κρείττων γὰρ οὗτος τῆς ἐργασίας καὶ τῆς θερα- 
a ¢ 4 a 
melas. σημεῖον δ᾽ ὅτι μεταφερόμενα τἀκεῖθεν 
», N \ Neher > a / 
ἄκαρπα Ta δὲ Kal ὅλως ἀβλαστῆ γίνεται. 
/ \ \ an a \ \ Ni 
Μεταβάλλει δὲ καὶ τῇ τροφῇ καὶ διὰ τὴν 


1 2,6. that they should improve from seed. 

2 Whereas wild trees are produced only from seed. 
5 7.e. improve a degenerate seedling. 

4 ἁπλῶς : 20m. Sch. Sucre ΘΝ 09. ὩΣ 


114 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. 1. 6-9 


degenerate from seed, since the parent trees are 
stronger. For the contrary! would be very strange, 
seeing that degenerate forms are found even in 
cultivated trees,? and among these only in those 
which are raised from seed. (As a general rule these 
are degenerate, though men may in some cases effect 
a change? by cultivation). 


Effects of situation, climate, tendance. 


Again differences in situation and climate affect the 
result. In some places, as at Philippi, the soil seems 
to produce plants which resemble their parent ; on 
the other hand a few kinds in some few places seem 
to undergo a change, so that wild seed gives a 
cultivated form, or a poor form one actually better. 
We have heard that this occurs, but only with the 
pomegranate, in Egypt® and Cilicia; in Egypt a tree 
of the acid kind both from seeds and from cuttings 
produces one whose fruit has a sort of sweet taste,° 
while about Soli in Cilicia near the river Pinaros 
(where the battle with Darius was fought) all those 
pomegranates raised from seed are without stones. 

If anyone were to plant our palm at Babylon, it is 
reasonable to expect that it would become fruitful 
and like the palms of that country. And so would it 
be with any other country which has fruits that are 
congenial to that particular locality ; for the locality 7 
is more important than cultivation and tendance. 
A proot of this is the fact that things transplanted 
thence become unfruitful, and in some cases refuse 
to grow altogether. 

There are also modifications due to feeding § and 

6 Or ‘wine-like.’ Cited by Apollon. Hist. Mir. 43. 
7 οὗτος conj. W.; αὐτὸς Ald. 
8 τῇ τροφῇ conj. W.; τῆς τροφῆς UMVAId. 
115 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἄλλην ἐπιμέλειαν, οἷς καὶ τὸ ἄγριον ἐξημεροῦται 
καὶ αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν ἡμερων ἔνια ἀπαγριοῦται, οἷοι" 
poa καὶ ἀμυγδαλῆ. ἤδη δέ τινες καὶ ἐκ κριθῶν 
ἀναφῦναί φασι πυροὺς καὶ ἐκ πυρῶν κριθὰς καὶ 

10 ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πυθμένος ἄμφω. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν 
ὡς μυθωδέστερα δεῖ δέχεσθαι. μεταβάλλει δ᾽ 
οὖν τὰ μεταβάλλοντα τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον αὐτο- 

4 > a \ / ce > , / 
μάτως" ἐξαλλαγῇ δὲ χώρας, ὥσπερ ἐν Αὐγύπτῳ 
καὶ Κιλικίᾳ περὶ τῶν ῥοῶν εἴπομεν, οὐδὲ διὰ 
μίαν θεραπείαν. 

\ a \ / ” 

Ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ὅπου Ta κάρπιμα ἄκαρπα 
γίνεται, καθάπερ τὸ πέρσιον τὸ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου καὶ 
€ a > “ ε / \ > ΄ / \ 
0 φοῖνιξ ἐν τῇ ᾿Ελλάδι καὶ εἰ δή τις κομίσειε τὴν 
ἐν Κρήτῃ λεγομένην αἴγειρον. ἔνιοι δέ φασι καὶ 
τὴν ὄην ἐὰν εἰς ἀλεεινὸν ἔλθη σφόδρα τόπον 
ἄκαρπον γίνεσθαι: φύσει γὰρ “Ψυχρόν. εὔλογον 
δὲ ἀμφότερα συμβαίνειν κατὰ τὰς ἐναντιώσεις, 
εἴπερ μηδ᾽ ὅλως ἔνια φύεσθαι θέλει μεταβάλ.. 
λοντα τοὺς τόπους. καὶ κατὰ μὲν τὰς χώρας 
αἱ τοιαῦται μεταβολαί. 

x \ \ , εὐ ᾽ \ lal / 

u Κατὰ δὲ τὴν φυτείαν τὰ ἀπὸ TOV σπερμάτων 
φυτευόμενα, καθάπερ ἐλέχθη: παντοῖαι γὰρ αἱ 
ἐξαλλαγαὶ καὶ τούτων. τῇ θεραπείᾳ δὲ μετα- 
βάλλει poa καὶ ἀμυγδαλῆ:" poa μὲν κόπρον ὑείαν 
λαβοῦσα καὶ ὕδατος πλῆθος ῥυτοῦ" ἀμυγδαλῆ δὲ 
e / a \ a 
ὅταν πάτταλόν τις ἐνθῇ, Kal TO δάκρυον ἀφαιρῇ 

Na » , , \ \ ” > a 
TO ἐπιρρέον πλείω χρόνον Kal τὴν ἄλλην ἀποδιδῷ 


1 ἔνια ἀπαγριοῦται οἷον conj. W.; ἔνια καὶ ἀπορῇ τε pda UV; 
ἐς καὶ ἀπορῇ τὰ pda M3 ἐ. καὶ ἀπορρεῖ τὰ ῥόα Ald 

2 7.e. cultivation has nothing to do with it. 

39.2.7. ‘of. 3.304. 8 Plin. 17. 242. 

δ i.e. improve. cf. 2. 2. 6 ad fin. 


116 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 11. 1. 9-11 


attention of other kinds, which cause the wild to 
become cultivated, or again cause some cultivated 
kinds to go wild,! such as pomegranate and almond. 
Some say that wheat has been known to be produced 
from barley, and barley from wheat, or again both 
growing on the same stool; but these accounts should 
be taken as fabulous. Anyhow those things which do 
change in this manner do so spontaneously,? and the 
alteration is due to a change of position (as we said 3 
happens with pomegranates in Egypt and Cilicia), 
and not to any particular method of cultivation. 

So too is it when fruit-bearing trees become un- 
fruitful, for instance the persion when moved from 
Egypt, the date-palm when planted in Hellas, or the 
tree which is called ‘poplar’ in Crete,* if anyone 
should transplant it. ®Some again say that the 
sorb becomes unfruitful if it comes into a very warm 
position, since it is by nature cold-loving. It is 
reasonable to suppose that both results follow because 
the natural circumstances are reversed, seeing that 
some things entirely refuse to grow when their place 
is changed. Such are the modifications due to 
position. 

As to those due to method of culture, the changes 
which occur in things grown from seed are as was 
said ; (for with things so grown also the changes are 
of all kinds). Under cultivation the pomegranate 
and the almond change character,® the pomegranate 
if it receives pig-manure ’ and a great deal of river 
water, the almond if one inserts a peg and § removes for 
some time the gum which exudes and gives the other 


ΤΟ ΟΕ 23 1402). 329.35 bling A 7,209 Cols. 10:15 
and 16. 
Bcf. 2. JO; Coe. VA IO 2a Bling 17. 90». 


117 


THEOPHRASTUS 


/ a 
ι2 θεραπείαν. ὡσαύτως δὲ δῆλον ὅτι καὶ ὅσα 
la a / a lal 
éEnuepovTat τῶν ἀγρίων ἢ ἀπαγριοῦται τῶι 
/ \ \ \ ’ \ ᾽ 
ἡμέρων: τὰ μὲν γὰρ θεραπείᾳ τὰ δ᾽ ἀθεραπευσίᾳ 
\ 
μεταβάλλει: πλὴν εἴ τις λέγοι μηδὲ μεταβολὴν 
> 3479 / ? Ν / > \ “ ’ 
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπίδοσιν εἰς TO βέλτιον εἶναι καὶ χείρον" οὐ 
\ “- 
γὰρ οἷόν τε τὸν κότινον ποιεῖν ἐλάαν οὐδὲ τὴν 
a / \ N nr « 
ἀχράδα ποιεῖν ἄπιον οὐδὲ τὸν ἐρινεὸν συκῆν. ὃ 
γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοτινου φασὶ συμβαινειν, ὥστ᾽ ἐὰν 
\ \ ἢ ty a 
περικοπεὶς τὴν θαλίαν ὅλως μεταφυτευθῇ φέρειν 
᾽ ’ , ΄ 
φαυλίας, μετακίνησις TLS γίνεται οὐ μεγάλη. 
A \ = ς , ὃ a a ἡθὲ BAN 
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὁποτέρως δεῖ λαβεῖν οὐθὲν ἂν 
διαφέροι. 
\ ’ , \ fal 
Ill. Φασὶ δ᾽ οὖν αὐτομάτην τινὰ γίνεσθαι τῶν 
[ὦ \ “ lal 
τοιούτων μεταβολήν, OTE μὲν τῶν καρπῶν OTE δὲ 
σ. > n n , ¢ a 
καὶ ὅλως αὐτῶν τῶν δένδρων, ἃ καὶ σημεῖα νομί- 
/ / a a 
ζουσιν οἱ μάντεις: οἷον poav ὀξεῖαν γλυκεῖαν 
» “ \ a ’ a \ 4 « a 
ἐξενεγκεῖν Kal γλυκεῖαν ὀξεῖαν: καὶ πάλιν ἁπλῶς 
/ “ 
αὐτὰ τὰ δένδρα μεταβάλλειν, ὥστε ἐξ ὀξείας 
a ’ὔ > o a 
γλυκεῖαν γίνεσθαι καὶ ἐκ γλυκείας ὀξεῖαν: χεῖρον 
nr \ fal 
δὲ τὸ εἰς γλυκεῖαν μεταβάλλειν. καὶ ἐξ ἐρινεοῦ 
a a , a 
συκῆν Kal ἐκ συκῆς ἐρινεόν: χεῖρον δὲ TO ἐκ 
a \ / ῇ \ 
συκῆς. Kal ἐξ ἐλάας κότινον Kal ἐκ κοτίνου 
> s Ὁ \ a / δὲ a bd 
ἐλάαν: ἥκιστα δὲ τοῦτο. πάλιν δὲ συκῆν ἐκ 


' περικοπεὶς conj. W.; περισκοπτεῖς U; περικόπτης Ald. 

2 φαυλίας conj. Salm.; φαύλους U; θάλος Ald. cf. Plin. 
16. 244. These olives produced little oil, but were valued 
for perfumery : see C. P. 6. 8. 3 and 5; de odor., 15. 

3 οὐ add. Salm.; om. MSS. (ἢ Ald. H. 


118 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. u. r1-u1. 1 


attention required. In like manner plainly some wild 
things become cultivated and some cultivated things 
become wild; for the one kind of change is due to 
cultivation, the other to neglect :—however it might 
be said that this is not a change but a natural 
development towards a better or an inferior form; 
(for that it is not possible to make a wild olive pear 
or fig into a cultivated olive pear or fig). As to that 
indeed which is said to occur in the case of the wild 
olive, that if the tree is transplanted with its top- 
growth entirely cut off,! it produces ‘ coarse olives,’ 2 
this is ΠΟ 3 very great change. However it can make 
no difference which way ‘ one takes this. 


Of spontaneous changes in the character of trees, and of certain 
marvels. 


III. °Apart from these changes it is said that in such 
plants there is a spontaneous kind of change, some- 
times of the fruit, sometimes of the tree itself as a 
whole, and soothsayers call such changes portents. For 
instance, an acid pomegranate, it is said, may produce 
sweet fruit, and conversely; and again, in general, 
the tree itself sometimes undergoes a change, so that 
it becomes sweet ® instead of acid, or the reverse 
happens. And the change to sweet is considered a 
worse portent. Again a wild fig may turn into a 
cultivated one, or the contrary change take place; 
and the latter is a worse portent. So again a culti- 
vated olive may turn into a wild one, or conversely, 
but the latter change is rare. So again a white fig 


42,6. whether nature or man is said to cause the admitted 
change. ΒΤ W242: 

ὁ 5,6. all the fruit is now acid instead of sweet, or the 
reverse, Sch. brackets ἐξ ὀξείας... ὀξεῖαν. 


119 


THEOPHRASTUS 


λευκῆς μέλαιναν Kal ἐκ μελαίνης λευκήν. ὁμοίως 
δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ ἀμπέλου. 

Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὡς τέρατα καὶ παρὰ φύσιν ὑπο- 
λαμβάνουσιν: ὅσα δὲ συνήθη τῶν τοιούτων οὐδὲ 
θαυμάζουσιν ὅλως" οἷον τὸ τὴν κάπνειον ἄμπελον 
καλουμένην καὶ ἐκ μέλανος βότρυος λευκὸν καὶ 
ἐκ λευκοῦ μέλανα φέρειν: οὐδὲ γὰρ οἱ μάντεις τὰ 
τοιαῦτα κρίνουσιν" ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνα, παρ᾽ οἷς 
πέφυκεν ἡ “χώρα μεταβάλλειν, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη 
περὶ τῆς ῥόας ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ" ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐνταῦθα 

αυμαστόν, διὰ τὸ μίαν μόνον ἢ δύο, καὶ ταύτας 
ἐν τῷ παντὶ χρόνῳ σπανίας. οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾽ εἴπερ 
συμβαίνει, μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς καρποῖς γίνεσθαι τὴν 
παραλλαγὴν ἢ ἐν ὅλοις τοῖς δένδροις. 

᾿Επεὶ καὶ τοιαύτη τις ἀταξία γίνεται περὶ τοὺς 
καρπούς: οἷον ἤδη ποτὲ συκῆ τὰ σῦκα ἔφυσεν ἐκ 
τοῦ ὄπισθεν τῶν θρίων: καὶ ῥόα δὲ καὶ ἄμπελος 
ἐκ τῶν στελεχῶν, καὶ ἄμπελος ἄνευ φύλλων καρ- 
Tov ἤνεγκεν. ἐλάα δὲ τὰ μὲν φύλλα ἀπέβαλε τὸν 
δὲ καρπὸν ἐξήνεγκεν" ὃ καὶ Θετταλῷ τῷ ἸΠεισι- 
στράτου γενέσθαι λέγεται. συμβαίνει δὲ καὶ διὰ 
χειμῶνας τοῦτο καὶ δι᾽ ἄλλας αἰτίας ἔνια τῶν 
δοκούντων εἶναι παρὰ λόγον οὐκ ὄντων δέ' οἷον 
ἐλάα ποτ᾽ ἀποκαυθεῖσα τελέως ἀνεβλάστησεν 
ὅλη, καὶ αὐτὴ καὶ ἡ θαλία. ἐν δὲ τῇ Βοιωτίᾳ 
καταβρωθέντων τῶν ἐρνῶν ὑπ᾽ ἀττελέβων πάλιν 





1 ἐπὶ conj. Sch.; ἐξ ΑἸὰ.Η. 

ΞΟ ΠΡ Land 2; Arist. de gen. an. Ὁ as Hesych. 
8.v. katvias; Schol. ad Ar. Vesp. 151. δ το 2.7. 

* εἰκὸς has perhaps dropped out. Sch. 

5 @plwy conj. Ἐν. Const., cf C.P. 5. 1. 7 and 8; 5. 2. 2; 
ἐρινεῶν P,Ald. cf. also Athen. 3. 11. 


I20 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. m1. 1-3 


may change into a black one, and conversely; and 
similar changes occur in! the vine. 

Now these changes they interpret as miraculous 
and contrary to nature; but they do not even feel 
any surprise at the ordinary changes, for instance, 
when the ‘smoky’ vine,? as it is called, produces 
alike white grapes instead of black or black grapes 
instead of white. Of such changes the soothsayers 
take no account, any more than they do of those 
instances in which the soil produces a natural change, 
as was said ὃ of the pomegranate in Egypt. But it is 
surprising when such a change occurs in our own 
country, because there are only one or two instances 
and these separated by wide intervals of time. How- 
ever, if such changes occur, it is natural4 that the 
variation should be rather in the fruit than in the tree 
asa whole. In fact the following irregularity also 
occurs in fruits ; a fig-tree has been known to produce 
its figs from behind the leaves,> pomegranate and 
vines from the stem, while the vine has been known 
to bear fruit without leaves. The olive again has 
been known to lose its leaves and yet produce its 
fruit; this is said to have happened to Thettalos, 
son of Pisistratus. ‘This may be due to inclement 
weather; and some changes, which seem to be 
abnormal, but are not really so, are due to other 
accidental causes ; ®for instance, there was an olive 
that, after being completely burnt down, sprang up 
again entire, the tree and all its branches. And in 
Boeotia an olive whose young shoots’ had been eaten 
off by locusts grew again: in this case however ® the 

6 cf. Hdt. 8. 55; Plin. 17. 241. 

7 ἐρνῶν conj. Sch.; ἔργων P,Ald.; κλάδων mU. 

8 7.e. the portent was not so great as in the other case 
quoted, as the tree itself had not been destroyed. 

121 


THEOPHRASTUS 


’ / \ ᾽ ? > / e/ ’ 
ἀνεβλάστησε' τὰ δ᾽ οἷον ἀπέπεσεν. ἥκιστα ὃ 
» \ nr τ 
ἴσως τὰ τοιαῦτα ἄτοπα διὰ τὸ φανερὰς ἔχειν τὰς 

eee 3 \ fe \ Ne 9 la > , , 
aiTias, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον TO μὴ EK τῶν οἰκείων TOTTWY 
/ \ \ / 
φέρειν τοὺς καρποὺς ἢ μὴ οἰκείους" καὶ μάλιστα δ᾽ 
, fel . ΄ A / / 
εἰ τῆς ὅλης φύσεως γίνεται μεταβολή, καθώπερ 
/ \ \ 5 \ / a 
ἐλέχθη. περὶ μὲν οὖν τὰ δένδρα τοιαῦται 
, 
τινές εἰσι μεταβολαί. 
n \ f ‘ , ’ , 
IV. Τῶν δὲ ἄλλων τό τε σισύμβριον εἰς piv- 
a / \ \ a 
Gav δοκεῖ μεταβάλλειν, ἐὰν μὴ κατεχηται TH 
, x A ᾿ . 
θεραπείᾳ, δι’ ὃ Kal μεταφυτεύουσι πολλάκις, καὶ 
΄ x 9 -“ \ al ᾽ὔ 
ὁ πυρὸς εἰς αἷραν. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐν τοῖς δένδροις 
, \ ’ “ 
αὐτομάτως, εἴπερ γίνεται. τὰ δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἐπετείοις 
\ fal , \ \ 
διὰ παρασκευῆς" οἷον ἡ τίφη καὶ ἡ Cera μετα- 
᾽ \ \ a , 
βάλλουσιν εἰς πυρὸν ἐὰν πτισθεῖσαι σπείρωνται, 
\ Ares ᾽ > \ > \ a , » Ν 
καὶ τοῦτ᾽ οὐκ εὐθὺς ἀλλὰ τῷ τρίτῳ ἔτει. σχεδὸν 
tal / a Ἂ / 
δὲ παραπλήσιον τοῦτό γε τῷ TA σπέρματα κατὰ 
\ \ 

Tas χώρας μεταβάλλειν: μεταβάλλει yap Kal 
fal ᾽ A 
ταῦτα καθ᾽ ἑκάστην χώραν καὶ σχεδὸν ἐν TO ἴσῳ 

/ \ ς / 4 \ \ « 
χρόνῳ καὶ ἡ τίφη. μεταβάλλουσι δὲ καὶ οἱ 
\ \ . \ / 
ἄγριοι πυροὶ καὶ αἱ κριθαὶ θεραπευόμεναι καὶ 
/ \ \ , 
ἐξημερούμεναι κατὰ τὸν ἴσον χρόνον. 
“ , a 
Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἔοικε χώρας Te μεταβολῇ Kar 
, ͵ ἈΠ Ἂν > / \ \ nw 
θεραπείᾳ γίνεσθαι καὶ ἔνια ἀμφοτέροις, τὰ δὲ τῇ 
θεραπείᾳ μόνον" οἷον πρὸς τὸ τὰ ὄσπρια μὴ γίνε- 
σθαι ἀτεράμονα βρέξαντα κελεύουσιν ἐν νίτρῳ 





1 οἰκείου" καὶ I conj.; οἰκειοῦται UMV; οἰκείως ΑἸα.Ή. ; ἐοικότας 
conj. W. 2 εἰ ins. Sch. aera he 

‘cf. 6. 7. 23 Plin. 19. 176. 

5 i.e. to prevent the change which cultivated soil induces. 


122 


ENQUIRY ANTOUPEANRS ΤΠ 12-1) 2 


shoots had, so to speak, only been shed. But after 
all such phenomena are perhaps far from strange, 
since the cause in each case is obvious; rather is it 
strange that trees should bear fruit not at the places 
where it naturally forms, or else fruit which does not 
belong to the character! of the tree. And most 
surprising of all is it when,? as has been said,’ 
there is a change in the entire character of the 
tree. Such are the changes which occur in trees, 


ΟἹ spontaneous and other changes in other plants. 


IV. 4 Of other plants it appears that bergamot-mint 
turns into cultivated mint, unless it is fixed by special 
attention ; and this is why men frequently transplant ° 
it; §so too wheat turns into darnel. Now in trees 
such changes, if they occur, are spontaneous, but in 
annual plants they are deliberately brought about: 
for instance, one-seeded wheat and rice-wheat change’ 
into wheat, if bruised before they are sown; and 
this does not happen at once, but in the third year. 
This change resembles that produced in the seeds by 
difference of soil’; for these grains vary according 
to the soil, and the change takes about the same 
time as that which occurs in one-seeded wheat. 
Again wild wheats and barleys also with tendance 
and cultivation change in a like period. 

These changes appear to be due to change of soil 
and cultivation, and in some cases the change is due 
to both, in others to cultivation alone; for instance, 
in order that pulses may not become uncookable,® 


6 But see reff. under αὔρα in Index. 
ΠΡ Gob. 5. 0515. bin. 18.98. 
8 χώραν conj. St.; ὥραν Ald.H. 
9 Grepduova conj. W.; ἀτέραμνα UAld. ef. 8. 8. 6 and 7; 
CP) 4.752374, 12.1 and’8 ;"Geop. 2.35.25) 2. 41° 
123 


4 


THEOPHRASTUS 


νύκτα τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ σπείρειν ἐν ξηρᾷ: φακοὺς ὦ ὥστε 
ἁδροὺς γίνεσθαι φυτεύουσιν ἐν Bonito τοὺς 
ἐρεβίνθους δέ, ὥστε “μεγάλους, αὐτοῖς τοῖς κελύ- 
φεσι βρέξαντα σπείρειν. μεταβάλλουσι δὲ καὶ 
κατὰ τὰς ὥρας τοῦ σπόρου πρὸς κουφότητα καὶ 
ἀλυπίαν' οἷον ἐάν τις τοὺς ὀρόβους ἐαρινοὺς 
σπείρῃ τρισάλυποι γίνονται, καὶ οὐχ ὡς οἱ μετο- 
πωρινοὶ βαρεῖς. 

"νεται δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς λαχάνοις “μεταβολὴ 
διὰ τὴν θεραπείαν" οἷον τὸ σέλινον, ἐὰν σπαρὲν 
καταπατηθῇ καὶ κυλινδρωθῇ, ἀναφύεσθαί φασιν 
οὗλον. μεταβάλλει δὲ καὶ τὴν χώραν ἐξαχλάτ- 
τοντα, καθάπερ καὶ τἄλλα. καὶ τὰ μὲν τοιαῦτα 
κοινὰ πάντων ἐστίν. εἰ δὲ κατά τινα πήρωσιν ἢ 
ἀφαίρεσιν μέρους δένδρον ἄγονον γίνεται, καθά- 
περ τὰ ζῶα, τοῦτο σκεπτέον" οὐδὲν γοῦν φανερὸν 
κατά γε τὴν διαίρεσιν εἰς τὸ πλείω καὶ ἐλάττω 

έρειν ὥσπερ κακούμενον, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἀπόλλυται τὸ 
ὅλον ἢ διαμένον καρποφορεῖ. τὸ δὲ γῆρας κοινή 
τις φθορὰ πᾶσιν. 

"Atotrov δ᾽ ἂν δόξειε μᾶλλον εἰ ἐν τοῖς ζώοις 
αἱ τοιαῦται μεταβολαὶ φυσικαὶ καὶ πλείους" καὶ 
γὰρ κατὰ τὰς ὥρας ἔνια δοκεῖ μεταβάλλειν, ὥσ- 
περ ὁ ἱέραξ καὶ ἔποψ καὶ ἄλλα τῶν ὁμοίων 
ὀρνέων. καὶ κατὰ τὰς τῶν τόπων ἀλλοιώσεις, 
ὥσπερ ὁ ὕδρος εἰς ἔχιν ξηραινομένων τῶν λιβά- 





1 νύκτα I conj.; νυκτὶ MSS. 

2 ἐν βολίτῳ conj. Milas. on Geop. 3. 27; ἔμβολον UMV 
Ald. cf. OP. 5. 0. 11 Col: 2, 10; 15: ῬΊΤΟΣ 18: 108: 

F ef COR.W&. 611: Geop. 2 + ees Ὁ. 

4 ἀλυπίαν conj. Sch.; δι daAuntas M ; δι᾽ ἀλυπίαν Ald. 


124 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. tv. 2-4 


men bid one moisten the seed in nitre for a night } 
and sow it in dry ground the next day. To make 
lentils vigorous they plant the seeds in dung?; to 
make chick-peas large they bid one moisten the 
seed while still in the pods,? before sowing. Also 
the time of sowing makes differences which conduce 
to digestibility and harmlessness *: thus, if one sows 
vetches°® in spring, they become quite harmless and 
are not indigestible like those sown in autumn. 
Again in pot-herbs change is produced by culti- 
vation ; for instance, they say that,° if celery seed 
is trodden and rolled in after sowing, it comes up 
curly; it also varies from change of soil, like other 
things. Such variations are common to all; we must 
now consider whether a tree, like animals, becomes 
unproductive from mutilation or removal of a part. 
At all events it does not appear that division? is an 
injury, as it were, which affects the amount of fruit 
produced; either the whole tree perishes, or else, 
if it survives,’ it bears fruit. Old age however is a 
cause which in all plants puts an end to life. .. . .9 
It would seem more surprising if !° the following 
changes occurred in animals naturally and frequently ; 
some animals do indeed seem to change according to 
the seasons, for instance, the hawk the hoopoe and 
other similar birds. So also changes in the nature 
of the ground produce changes in animals, for instance, 
the water-snake changes into a viper, if the marshes 


> cf. Plin. 18. 139; Col. 2. 10. 34. 

ef Cer. δ. 0. ἢ; Οδορὶ 12.23: 2. 

7 ye conj. Sch.; re Ald. 

8 διάμενον conj. Sch.; διαμένοντα Ald. 

® Something seems to have been lost at the end of 8 3. 

10 εἰ ins. Sch.; τοιαῦται may however mean ‘the above- 
mentioned,’ and refer to something which has been lost. 


125 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ὃ ts be \ \ \ 4 » 
ων. φανερώτατα δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὰς γενέσεις ἔνια, 
\ 
καὶ μεταβάλλει διὰ πλειόνων ζἕξωων; οἷον ἐκ 
/ / \ ΙΒ. Ὶ » / , 
κάμπης γίνεται χρυσαλλὶς ELT ἐκ ταύτης Ψυχὴ; 
ae: eae HE rafts. \ a , ΣΧ » 
καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἄλλων δ᾽ ἐστὶ τοῦτο πλειόνων, οὐδὲν ἴσως 
7 Ὁ ὦ Ν ΄ > 2.3 a 
ἄτοπον, οὐδ᾽ ὅμοιον TO ζητούμενον. ἀλλ᾽ ἐκεῖνο 
/ Χ \ / \ .“ lal Ἁ 
συμβαίνει περὶ τὰ δένδρα καὶ ὅλως πᾶσαν τὴν 
ef [χὰ > 4 \ / Ὁ bY ΄, 
ὕλην, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη καὶ πρότερον, ὥστε αὐτομά- 
a / 
την μεταβλαστάνειν μεταβολῆς τινος γινομένης 
a , δ 
ἐκ τῶν οὐρανίων τοιαύτης. τὰ μὲν οὖν περὶ 
\ / \ \ ᾽ ΄ , 
Tas γενέσεις καὶ μεταβολὰς ἐκ τούτων θεωρητέον. 
᾽ ΄ a 
V. ᾿Επεὶ δὲ καὶ αἱ ἐργασίαι καὶ αἱ θεραπεῖαι 
/ / \ ” , t 
μεγάλα συμβάλλονται, Kal ETL πρότερον αἱ 
cr r / 
φυτεῖαι καὶ ποιοῦσι μεγάλας διαφοράς, λεκτέον 
ν Vd 
καὶ περὶ τούτων. 
\ an AN “-“ ΓΟ e \ iy 
Kat πρῶτον περὶ τῶν φυτειῶν. at μὲν οὗν 
ιν , ” » ἃ a \ \ \ 
ὧραι πρότερον εἴρηνται Kal ἃς δεῖ. τὰ δὲ φυτὰ 
΄ ΄, « , 
λαμβάνειν κελεύουσιν ὡς κάλλιστα Kal ἐξ ὁμοίας 
a > ἃ / / x A δὲ 
γῆς εἰς ἣν μέλλεις φυτεύειν, ἢ χειρονος" τοὺς δὲ 
/ / , 
γυροὺς προορύττειν ὡς πλείστου χρόνου καὶ 
rc / 
βαθυτέρους αἰεὶ καὶ τοῖς ἐπιπολαιορριζοτέροις. 








1 7.e. in the instance given the development of an insect 
exhibits, not one, but a series of changes from one creature 
to another. 

2 Whereas the metamorphoses mentioned above are inde- 
pendent of climatic conditions. 

3 δὲ conj. W.; τε Ald. 

4 κάλλιστα conj. W., of. C.P. 3, 24. 1; τάχιστα MVAIA.; 
τὰ χίστα U. 


126 


ENQUIRY ἹΝΤῸ ΡΙΓΑΝΊΘ, ΠΠ{|ιν. 4-ν. 1 


dry up. Most obvious are certain changes in regard 
to the way in which animals are produced, and such 
changes run through a series of creatures!; thus a 
caterpillar changes into a chrysalis, and this in turn 
into the perfect insect; and the like occurs in a 
number of other cases. But there is hardly anything 
abnormal in this, nor is the change in plants, which 
is the subject of our enquiry, analogous to it. That 
kind of change occurs in trees and in all woodland 
plants generally, as was said before, and its effect is 
that, when a change of the required character occurs 
in the climatic conditions, a spontaneous change in 
the way of growth ensues.? These instances must 
suffice for investigation of the ways in which plants 
are produced or modified. 


Of methods of propagation, with notes on cultivation. 


V. Since however methods of cultivation and ten- 
dance largely contribute, and, before these, methods 
of planting, and cause great differences, of these too 
we must speak. 

And first of methods of planting: as to the seasons, 
we have already stated at what seasons one should 
plant. Further? we are told that the plants chosen 
should be the best possible, and should be taken 
from soil resembling that in which you are going to 
plant them, or else inferior®; also the holes should 
be dug ® as long as possible beforehand, and should 
always be deeper than the original holes, even for 
those whose roots do not run very deep. 


5 i.e. the shift should be into better soil, if possible. ef. 
CORN 5. 5:2: 


γυροὺς προορύττειν conj. R. Const.; πυροὺς προσορύττειν 


6 
ΜΑΙ. cf. C.P. 3. 4.1 
129 


2 


THEOPHRASTUS 


/ , e >’ / , A 
Λέγουσι δέτινες ὡς οὐδεμία κατωτέρω διϊκνεῖται 
fn ΄ ᾽ -“ A 
τριῶν ἡμιποδίων: δι’ ὃ Kal ἐπιτιμῶσι τοῖς ἐν 
7 a 
μείζονι βάθει φυτεύουσιν" οὐκ ἐοίκασι δὲ ὀρθῶς 
λέγειν ἐπὶ πολλῶν: ἀλλ᾽ ἐὰν ἢ χώματος ἐπιλάβ- 
ntat βαθέος ἢ καὶ χώρας τοιαύτης ἢ καὶ τόπου, 
a “ \ a / 
πολλῷ μακροτέραν ὠθεῖ τὸ τῇ φύσει βαθύρριζον. 
"4 
πεύκην δέ τις ἔφη μεταφυτεύων μεμοχλευμένην 
Ἁ 7 » , 
μείζω τὴν ῥίζαν ἔχειν ὀκτάπηχυν καίπερ οὐχ ὅλης 
ἐξαιρεθείσης ἀλλ᾽ ἀπορραγεισης. 
\ \ / aN a 5» / e , 
Ta δὲ φυτευτήρια ἐὰν μὲν ἐνδέχηται ὑπόρριζα, 
’ \ / a a > \ lal / Ἃ lol ” 
εἰ δὲ μή, δεῖ μᾶλλον ἀπὸ τῶν κάτω ἢ TOV ἄνω 
/ \ > / \ \ ‘ » 
λαμβάνειν, πλὴν ἀμπέλου: καὶ τὰ μὲν ἔχοντα 
ῥίζας ὀρθὰ ἐμβάλλειν, τὰ δὲ μὴ ἔχοντα ὑποβάλ- 
fal / “ \ A ~ 
λειν τοῦ φυτευτηρίου ὅσον σπιθαμὴν ἢ μικρῷ 
-“ » \ 4 \ lal ig / 
ἡγλεῖον. ἔνιοι δὲ κελεύουσι Kal τῶν ὑπορρίζων 
ἶ, / 
ὑποβαλλειν, τιθέναι δὲ Kal THY θέσιν ὁμοίως ἥνπερ 
nr \ I 
εἶχεν ἐπὶ τῶν δένδρων Ta πρόσβορρα Kal τὰ πρὸς 
Ὁ \ \ \ / id \ > 7 
ἕω καὶ τὰ πρὸς μεσημβρίαν. ὅσα δὲ ἐνδέχεται 
τῶν φυτῶν καὶ προμοσχεύειν' τὰ μὲν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν 
a / 2 ’ / > / / n a 
των δένδρων, οἷον ἐλάας ἀπίου μηλέας συκῆς" τὰ 
δ᾽ ἀφαιροῦντας, οἷον ἀμπέλου" ταύτην γὰρ οὐχ 
οἷόν τε ἐπ’ αὐτῆς μοσχεύειν. 
> x δὲ \ e / \ \ δὲ id , 
Kav δὲ μὴ ὑπόρριζα τὰ φυτὰ μηδὲ ὑπόπρεμνα 





1 ἀλλ᾽ ἐὰν... τοιούτου. ἐὰν ἣ μὲν σώματος M ; so V, but ῇ ; 
hom. PAld.; χώματος H ; κενώματος for σώματος and εὐδιόδου 
for ἢ καὶ τόπου conj. W. χώρας refers to exposure, etc., 
τόπου (86. τοιούτου) to quality of soil: so G. 

2 Plin. 16. 129; Xen. Cec. 19. 3. SoC. 2x3. ἃ. 


128 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. v. 2-4 


Some say that no root goes down further than a 
foot and a half, and accordingly they blame those who 
plant deeper. However there are many instances 
in which it appears that what they say does not 
hold good; a plant which is naturally deep-rooting 
pushes much deeper if it finds either a deep mass 
of soil or a position which favours such growth or 
again the kind of ground which favours it.! In fact,? 
aman once said that when he was transplanting a 
fir which he had uprooted with levers, he found that 
it had a root more than eight cubits long, though 
the whole of it had not been removed, but it was 
broken off. 

The slips for planting should be taken, if possible, 
with roots attached, or, failing that, from the lower ὃ 
rather than from the higher parts of the tree, except 
in the case of the vine ; those that have roots should 
be set upright, while in the case of those which 
have none about® a handsbreadth or rather more οἱ 
the slip should be buried. Some say that part even 
of those which have roots should be buried, and that 
the position ® should be the same as that of the tree 
from which the slip was taken, facing north or east 
or south, as the case may be. With those plants 
with which it is possible, shoots from the boughs 
should also, they say, be planted, some being set on 
the trees themselves,’ as with olive pear apple and 
fig, but in other cases, as in that of the vine, they 
must be set separately, for that the vine cannot be 
grafted on itself. 

If the slips cannot be taken with root or stock 


4 cf. C.P. 3.6. 4; Xen. Oec. 19. 9: 
ὃ ὅσον conj. Sch.; οἷον P,Ald. 
δ ot (ὦ ἘΣ 9: δ Ὁ. 7 +.¢. grafted. 


129 


6 


THEOPHRASTUS 


λαμβάνειν, καθάπερ τῆς ἐλάας, σχίσαντά τε τὸ 
ξύλον κάτωθεν καὶ λίθον ἐμβαλόντα φυτεύειν' 
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐλάας καὶ συκῆς καὶ τῶν ad- 
λων. φυτεύεται δὲ ἡ συκῆ καὶ ἐάν τις κράδην 
παχεῖαν ἀποξύνας σφύρᾳ παίῃ, ἄχρι οὗ ἂν 
ἀπολίπῃ μικρὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς γῆς, εἶτ᾽ αὐτῆς ἄμμον 
βαλὼν ἄνωθεν ἐπιχώσῃ' καὶ γίνεσθαι δή φασι 
καὶ καλλίω ταῦτα τὰ φυτά, μέχρι οὗ ἂν ἢ 
νέα. 

Παραπλησία καὶ τῶν ἀμπέλων, ὅταν ἀπὸ 
τοῦ παττάλου' προοδοποιεῖ γὰρ ὁ πάτταλος 
ἐκείνῳ τῷ κλήματι, διὰ τὴν ἀσθένειαν: φυ- 
τεύουσιν οὕτω καὶ ῥόαν καὶ ἄλλα τῶν δένδρων. 
ἡ συκῆ δέ, ἐὰν ἐν σκίλλῃ φυτευθῇ, θᾶττον παρα- 
γίνεται καὶ ἧττον ὑπὸ σκωλήκων κατεσθίεται. 
ὅλως δὲ πᾶν ἐν σκίλλῃ “φυτευόμενον εὐβλαστὲς 
καὶ θᾶττον αὐξάνεται. ὅσα δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ,στελέχους 
καὶ διακοπτόμενα φυτεύεται, κάτω τρέποντα τὴν 
τομὴν δεῖ φυτεύειν, διακόπτειν δὲ μὴ ἐλάττω 
σπιθαμιαίων, ὥσπερ, ἐλέχθη, καὶ τὸν φλοιὸν 
προσεῖναι" φύεται δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων ἔρνη" βλα- 
στανόντων δ᾽ ἀεὶ προσχωννύειν, ἄχρι οὗ ἂν γένη- 
ται ἄρτιον' αὕτη μὲν οὖν τῆς ἐλάας ἰδία καὶ τοῦ 
μυρρίνου, αἱ δ᾽ ἄλλαι κοινότεραι πᾶσιν. 

Αριστον δὲ καὶ ῥιζώσασθαι καὶ φυτείας μάλι- 
στα τῆς τυχούσης ἡ συκῆ. φυτεύειν δὲ ῥόας μὲν 





1 ἡ before τῆς om. W. 2 re τὸ conj. W.; τότε MVP. 

3 καὶ τῆς eAalas U; ἐλάας MVP; so W. 

4. ἘΠῚ 17/923, Sef. ΘΟ 5. 19: 

8 cf. 7. 13. 4; C.P. 5. 6. 10 (where another bulb, σχῖνος, is 
mentioned as being put to the same use); Athen. 3. 13; 
Plin. 17. 87. 


130 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. v. 4-6 


attached, as with the olive,! they say that one must ” 
split the wood at the lower end and plant with a 
stone on top; and the fig and other trees must 
be treated in like manner with the olive.’ The fig ‘ 
is also propagated by sharpening a stout shoot and 
driving it in with a hammer, till only a small piece of 
it is left above ground, and then piling sand above so 
as to earth it up; and they say that the plants thus 
raised grow finer up to a certain age. 

Similar is the method used with vines, when they 
are propagated by the ‘ peg’> method; for the pee 
makes a passage for that sort of shoot on account of 
its weakness ; and in the same manner men plant the 
pomegranate and other trees. The fig progresses 
more quickly and is less eaten by grubs, if the cutting 
is set in asquill-bulb®; in fact anything so planted is 
vigorous and grows faster. All those trees which are 
propagated by pieces cut from the stem should be 
planted with the cut part downwards,’ and the 
pieces cut off should not be less than a handsbreadth in 
length, as was said,’ and the bark should be left on. 
From such pieces new shoots grow, and as they grow, 
one should keep on heaping up earth about them, 
till the tree becomes strong.® This kind of propa- 
gation is peculiar to the olive and myrtle, while the 
others are more or less common to all trees. 

The fig is better than any other tree at striking 
roots, and will, more than any other tree, grow by 
any method of propagation. 1!°We are told that, 

7 cf. Geop. 9. 11. 8. 

8 2. 5. 3, where however the method of propagation is 
different. 

9 ἄρτιον Ald.; ἀρτιτελῇ conj. W. (quoad satis corroboretur G ; 


donec robur planta capiat Plin. 17. 124); ἄρτιτεων U3; ἄρτι 
τέων MV; ἄρτι τεῶν Py. edie Bk On! arin bas 


131 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ , \ / \ ’ ‘ 
καὶ μυρρίνους καὶ δάφνας πυκνὰς κελεύουσι, μὴ 
/ ἢ , ‘ ~ 
πλέον διεστώσας ἢ ἐννέα πόδας, μηλέας δὲ μικρῷ 
, / 5) a 
μακρότερον, ἀπίους δὲ Kal ὄγχνας ἔτι μᾶλλον, 
> lal \ \ cal nr / ς / 
ἀμυγδαλᾶς δὲ καὶ συκᾶς πολλῷ πλέον, ὡσαύτως 
δὲ \ \ ὅλ, / a θ δὲ \ \ Ἁ 
€ καὶ τὴν ἐλάαν. ποιεῖσθαι δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὸν 
/ \ \ a a 
τόπον τὰς ἀποστάσεις" ἐν γὰρ τοῖς ὀρεινοῖς ἐλάτ- 
Tous ἢ ἐν τοῖς πεδεινοῖς. 
᾽ al \ , 
Μέγιστον δὲ ws εἰπεῖν TO THY πρόσφορον 
/ / \ n 
ἑκάστῳ χώραν ἀποδιδόναι: τότε γὰρ εὐθενεῖ 
/ c oP Se lal ’ a > / \ Ν nr 
μάλιστα. ὡς δ᾽ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ἐλάᾳ μὲν καὶ συκῇ 
Ψ 
καὶ ἀμπέλῳ τὴν πεδεινήν φασιν οἰκειοτάτην εἶναι, 
na 7 \ / 
Tots δὲ ἀκροδρύοις τὰς ὑπωρείας. χρὴ δὲ καὶ ἐν 
wUTOIS τοῖς ὁμογενέσι μὴ ἀγνοεῖν τὰς οἰκείας. ἐν 
πλείστῃ δὲ ὡς εἰπεῖν διαφορᾷ τὰ τῶν ἀμπέλων 
{ “ la) / 
ἐστίν: ὅσα yap ἐστι γῆς εἴδη, τοσαῦτά τινές φασι 
καὶ ἀμπέλων εἶναι. φυτευόμενα μὲν οὖν κατὰ 
/ 9 \ ’ \ ΄ \ v 
φύσιν ἀγαθὰ γίνεσθαι παρὰ φύσιν δὲ ἄκαρπα. 
a “ \ 
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὥσπερ κοινὰ πάντων. 
a / 
VI. Τῶν δὲ φοινίκων ἴδιος ἡ φυτεία παρὰ 
bes \ ς \ a / ΄, 
τἄλλα καὶ ἡ μετὰ ταῦτα θεραπεία. φυτεύουσι 
\ , ᾽ ἂν ΟΝ , ΄ ͵΄ \ , 
yap πλείους εἰς ταὐτὸ τιθέντες δύο κάτω καὶ δύο 
ἄνωθεν ἐπιδοῦντες, πρανεῖς δὲ πάντας. τὴν γὰρ 
“ / a 
ἔκφυσιν οὐκ EK τῶν ὑπτίων καὶ κοίλων ποιεῖται, 
7 , bd 4 τα a » ΓΝ \ 
καθάπερ τινές φασιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τῶν ἄνω, δι᾿ ὃ Kal 
“ lal / lal 
ἐν τῇ ἐπιζεύξει τῶν ἐπιτιθεμένων ov δεῖ περικα- 
\ 
λύπτειν τὰς ἀρχὰς ὅθεν ἡ ἔκφυσις" φανεραὶ δ᾽ 
1 ἐλάαν conj. Bod. (cf. Plin. 17. 88) ; ῥοιὰν UAld.H. 


2 ἐλάττονι conj. Sch.; ἔλαττον Ald. 
3 ὦ 6. apples pears plums, etc. 


132 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. v. 6-s1. 1 


in planting the pomegranate myrtle or bay, one 
should set two trees close together, not further 
than nine feet apart, apples a little further, pears and 
wild pears still further, almonds and figs further still, 
and in like manner the olive.!. Again the distance 
apart must be regulated by the nature of the ground, 
being less 2 in hilly parts than in low ground. 

Most important of all, one may say, is it to assign 
to each the suitable soil; for then is the tree most 
vigorous. Speaking generally, they say that low 
ground is most suitable for the olive fig and vine, 
and the lower slopes of hills for fruit trees.? Nor 
should one fail to note what soil suits each variety 
even of those closely related. There is the greatest 
difference, one may say, between the different kinds of 
vine: for they say that there are as many kinds of vine 
as there are of soil. If they are planted as their 
nature requires, they turn out well, if otherwise, they 
are unfruitful. And these remarks apply almost 
equally to all trees. 


Of the propagation of the date-palm ; of palms in general. 


VI. The method of propagating date-palms is 
peculiar and exceptional, as also is their subsequent 
cultivation. They plant several seeds together, 
putting two below and two above, which are fastened 
on; but all face downwards.’ For germination starts 
not, as some say, from the ‘ reverse’ or hollow side,® 
but from the part’ which is uppermost; wherefore 
in joining on the seeds which are placed above one 
must not cover up the points from which the growth 


4 Plin. 13. 32. 
* 4.e. with the grooved side downwards. 
6 7.e. the grooved side, 7 χ,6. the round side. 


THEOPHRASTUS 


εἰσι τοῖς ἐμπείροις. διὰ τοῦτο δ᾽ εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ 
πλείους τιθέασιν ὅτι ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀσθενὴς ἡ 
φυτεία. τούτων δὲ αἴ τε ῥίζαι πρὸς ἀλλήλας 
συμπλέκονται καὶ εὐθὺς αἱ πρῶται βλαστήσεις, 
ὥστε ἕν γίνεσθαι τὸ στέλεχος. 

Ἢ μὲν οὖν ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν φυτεία τοιαύτη 
τις" ἡ δ᾽ ἀφ᾽ αὑτοῦ, ὅταν ἀφέλωσι τὸ ἄνω ἐν 
ᾧπερ ὁ ἐγκέφαλος" ἀφαιροῦσι δὲ ὅσον "δίπηχυ" 
σχίσαντες δὲ τοῦτο κάτω τιθέασι τὸ ὑγρόν' φιλεῖ 
δὲ χώραν ἁλμώδη: δι’ ὃ καὶ ὅπου μὴ τοιαύτη 
τυγχάνει περιπάττουσιν ἅλας οἱ γεωργοί: τοῦτο 
δὲ δεῖ ποιεῖν μὴ περὶ αὐτὰς τὰς ῥίξας ἀλλ᾽ ἄποθεν 
ἀποστήσαντα περιπάττειν ὅσον ἡμίεκτον' ὅτι δὲ 
τοιαύτην ητεῖ χώραν κἀκεῖνο ποιοῦνται σημεῖον" 
πανταχοῦ γὰρ ὅπου πλῆθος φοινίκων ἁλμώδεις αἱ 
χῶραι: καὶ γὰρ ἐν Βαβυλῶνί φασιν, ὅπου οἱ 
φοίνικες πεφύκασι, καὶ ἐν Λιβύῃ δὲ καὶ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ 
καὶ Φοινίκῃ καὶ τῆς Συρίας δὲ τῆς κοίλης, ἐν ny 
οἱ πλεῖστοι τυγχάνουσιν, ἐν τρισὶ μόνοις τόποις 
ἁλμώδεσιν εἶναι τοὺς δυναμένους θησαυρίζεσθαι: 
τοὺς δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις οὐ διαμένειν ἀλλὰ σήπεσθαι, 
χλωροὺς δ᾽ ἡδεῖς εἶναι καὶ καταναλίσκειν οὕτω. 

Φιλεῖ δὲ καὶ ὑδρείαν σφόδρα τὸ δένδρον" περὶ 
δὲ κόπρου διαμφισβητοῦσιν' οἱ μὲν γὰρ οὔ φασι 
χαίρειν ἀλλ᾽ ἐναντιώτατον εἶναι, οἱ δὲ καὶ 
χρῆσθαι καὶ ἐπίδοσιν πολλὴν ποιεῖν. δεῖν. δ᾽ 
ὑδρεύειν εὖ μάλα κατὰ τῆς κόπρου, καθάπερ οἱ ἐν 





1 2.6. ‘ cabbage.’ 

2 τρῦτο. . . ὑγρόν: I have inserted δὲ, otherwise retaining 
the reading of Ald.; τούτου κάτω" τιθέασι δ᾽ ἔνυγρον conj.W. 
cf. Plin. 13. 36. τὸ ὑγρόν, viz. the cut end. 

3 ἁλμώδη conj. W.; ἀμμώδη P,Ald.H. 


134 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vi. 1-3 


is to come; and these can be recognised by experts. 
And the reason why they set several together is that 
a plant that grows from one only is weak. The roots 
which grow from these seeds become entangled 
together and so do the first shoots from the very 
start, so that they combine to make a single stem, 

Such is the method of growing from the fruits. 
But propagation is also possible from the tree itself, 
by taking off the top, which contains the ‘head.’ ! 
They take off about two cubits’ length, and, splitting 
it, set the moist end.?_ It likes a soil which contains 
salt ?; wherefore, where such soil is not available, 
the growers sprinkle salt about it; and this must not 
be done about the actual roots: one must keep the 
salt some way off and sprinkle about a gallon. To 
shew that it seeks such a soil they offer the following 
proof ; wherever date-palms grow abundantly, the 
soil is salt,* both in Babylon, they say, where the tree 
is indigenous, in Libya in Egypt and in Phoenicia ; 
while in Coele-Syria, where are* most palms, only in 
three districts, they say, where the soil is salt, are 
dates produced which can be stored ; those that grow 
in other districts do not keep, but rot, though when 
fresh they are sweet and men use® them at that 
stage. 

‘The tree is likewise very fond of irrigation; as 
to dung there is a difference of opinion: some say 
that the date-palm does not like it, but that it is most 
injurious, others that it gladly accepts ὃ it and makes 
good growth thereby, but plenty of water should be 

4 ἁλμώδεις conj. W.; ἀμμώδεις Ald. H. 

5 ἐν ἧ γ᾽ of conj. W.; ἵν᾽ Ἴνδοι U; ἣν Ἴνδοι MVAId. 
καταναλίσκειν Ald.; καταναλίσκεσθαι conj. W. 


Plint{13228: 
καὶ χρῆσθαι conj. Sch.; κεχρῆσθαι Ald.; ? κεχάρησθαι. 


P35 


aon an 


THEOPHRASTUS 


e 


Ῥόδῳ. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἐπισκεπτέον' ἴσως γὰρ οἱ 
μὲν οὕτως οἱ δ᾽ ἐκείνως θεραπεύουσιν, καὶ μετὰ 
μὲν τοῦ ὕδατος ὠφέλιμον ἡ κόπρος ἄνευ δὲ τούτου 
βλαβερά. ὅταν δὲ ἐνιαύσιος γένηται, μετα- 
φυτεύουσι καὶ τῶν ἁλῶν συμπαραβάλλουσι, καὶ 
πάλιν ὅταν διετής" χαίρει γὰρ σφόδρα τῇ μετα- 
φυτείᾳ. 

Μεταφυτεύουσι δὲ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι τοῦ ἦρος" οἱ δὲ 
ἐν Βαβυλῶνι περὶ τὸ ἄστρον, ὅτε καὶ ὅλως οἵ γε 
πολλοὶ φυτεύουσιν, ὡς καὶ ᾿“παραγινομένου καὶ 
αὐξανομένου θᾶττον. νέου μὲν ὄντος οὐχ ἅπτον- 
ται, πλὴν ἀναδοῦσι τὴν κόμην, ὅπως ὀρθοφυῆ τ᾿ 7 
καὶ αἱ ῥάβδοι μὴ ἀπαρτῶνται. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα 
περιτέμνουσιν, ὁπόταν ἁδρὸς ἤδη γένηται καὶ 
πάχος ἔχῃ. ἀπολείπουσι δὲ ὅ ὅσον σπιθαμὴν τῶν 
ῥάβδων. φέρει δὲ ἕως μὲν ἂν ἡ νέος ἀπύρηνον τὸν 
καρπόν, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο πυρηνώδη. 

ἼΛλλοι δέ τινες λέγουσιν ὡς οἵ γε κατὰ Συρίαν 
οὐδεμίαν προσάγουσιν ἐργασίαν ἀλλ’ ἢ δια- 
καθαίρουσι καὶ ἐπιβρέχουσιν, ἐπιζητεῖν δὲ μᾶλλον 
τὸ ναματιαῖον ὕδωρ ἢ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Διός" εἶναι δὲ 
πολὺ τοιοῦτον ἐν τῷ αὐλῶνι ἐν ᾧ καὶ τὰ φοινι- 
κόφυτα τυγχάνει, τὸν αὐλῶνα δὲ τοῦτον λέγειν 
τοὺς Σύρους ὅτι διατείνει διὰ τῆς ‘A paBias μέχρι 
τῆς ἐρυθρᾶς θαλάσσης καὶ πολλοὺς φάσκειν 
ἐληλυθέναι: τούτου δὲ ἐν τῷ κοιλοτάτῳ πεφυ- 
κέναι τοὺς φοίνικας. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τάχ᾽ ἀμφο- 
τέρως ἂν εἴη: κατὰ γὰρ τὰς χώρας, ὥσπερ καὶ 








ΟΕ ΟΣ Ve 3 Plin. 13. 37. 
8 συμπαραβάλλουσι conj. Sch. from ἃ ; συμπαραλαμβάνουσ. 
UAld. 4 of; Pling 132-38. 


136 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vi. 3-5 


given, after manuring, as the Rhodians use. This 
then is matter for enquiry ; it may be that there are 
two distinct methods of cultivation, and that dung, 
if accompanied by watering,! is beneficial, though 
without it it is harmful. * When the tree is a year 
old, they transplant it and give plenty 3 of salt, and 
this treatment is repeated when it is two years old. 
for it delights greatly in being transplanted. 

4 Most transplant in the spring, but the people of 
Babylon about the rising of the dog-star, and this is 
the time when most people propagate it, since it 
then germinates and grows more quickly. As long 
as it is young, they do not touch it, except that they 
tie up the foliage, so that it may grow straight® and 
the slender branches may not hang down.® At a 
later stage they prune it, when it is more vigorous 
and has become a stout tree, leaving the slender 
branches only about a handsbreadth long. So long 
as it is young, it produces its fruit without a stone, 
but later on the fruit has a stone. 

However some say that the people of Syria use no 
cultivation, except cutting out wood and watering, also 
that the date-palm requires spring water rather than 
water from the skies ; and that such water is abundant 
in the valley in which are the palm-groves. And 
they add that the Syrians say that this valley 7 
extends through Arabia to the Red Sea,’ and that 
many profess to have visited it,? and that it is in the 
lowest part of it that the date-palms grow. Now 
both accounts may be true, for it is not strange that 

5 ὀρθοφυῆ τ᾽ ἢ conj. W.; ὀρθοφύηται P,Ald. 
5 ἀπαρτῶνται conj. R. Const.; ἀπορθῶνται P,M Ald. 
‘ef. Diod: 8. 41. 


8 ¢.e. the Arabian Gulf. 
9. ἐληλυθέναι Ald. ; διεληλυθέναι conj. W. 


137 


THEOPHRASTUS 


> \ \ / / \ \ ? , > 
αὐτὰ τὰ δένδρα, διαφέρειν καὶ Tas ἐργασίας οὐκ 
»). 
ἄτοπον. 
, \ lal > \ , a \ 
Γένη δὲ τῶν φοινικων ἐστὶ πλείω: πρῶτον μὲν 
a Ν 
καὶ ὥσπερ ἐν μεγίστῃ διαφορᾷ τὸ μὲν κάρπιμον 
Ν NORM 5 ἣν « \ a / 
τὸ δὲ ἄκαρπον, ἐξ ὧν οἱ περὶ Βαβυλῶνα τάς τε 
’ 5 4 a 
κλίνας Kal τἄλλα σκεύη ποιοῦνται. ἔπειτα τῶν 
καρπίμων οἱ μὲν ἄρρενες αἱ δὲ θήλειαι: διαφέρουσι 
? ἃ « » r 
δὲ ἀλλήλων, καθ᾽ ἃ ὁ μὲν ἄρρην ἄνθος πρῶτον 
/ > \ a / e \ / Ν » \ 
φέρει ἐπὶ τῆς σπάθης, ἡ δὲ θήλεια καρπὸν εὐθὺ 
μικρόν. αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν καρπῶν διαφοραὶ πλείους" 
/ 
οἱ μὲν yap ἀπύρηνοι οἱ δὲ μαλακοπύρηνοι' τὰς 
\ ς \ \ e \ , ε \ , 
χροιὰς οἱ μὲν λευκοὶ οἱ δὲ μέλανες οἱ δὲ ξανθοί: 
τὸ δ᾽ ὅλον οὐκ ἐλάττω χρώματά φασιν εἶναι τῶν 
al e a / 
συκῶν οὐδ᾽ ἁπλῶς τὰ γένη" διαφέρειν δὲ Kal κατὰ 
/ 
τὰ μεγέθη Kai κατὰ τὰ σχήματα" καὶ yap σφαι- 
n / A 
ροειδεῖς ἐνίους ὡσανεὶ μῆλα Kal τὰ μεγέθη THAL- 
/ \ an 
KOUTOUS ὡς τέτταρας εἰς τὸν πῆχυν εἶναι, [ἕπτα 
\ > / ” \ \ e 4 » 
καὶ εὐπόδους}]" ἄλλους δὲ μικροὺς ἡλίκους ἐρε- 
βίνθους. καὶ τοῖς χυλοῖς δὲ πολὺ διαφέροντας. 
Κράτιστον δὲ καὶ τῶν λευκῶν καὶ τῶν μελάνων 
’ 
τὸ βασιλικὸν καλούμενον γένος ἐν ἑκατέρῳ καὶ 
an γ᾽ “ 
μεγέθει καὶ ἀρετῇ" σπάνια δ᾽ εἶναι ταῦτα λέγουσι" 
Ν fal / a 
σχεδὸν yap ἐν μόνῳ τῷ Baywou κήπῳ τοῦ 
al fal ? , 
παλαιοῦ περὶ Βαβυλῶνα. ἐν Κύπρῳ δὲ ἴδιόν τι 
/ Ν 
γένος φοινίκων ἐστὶν ὃ οὐ πεπαίνει τὸν καρπόν, 
> te Ν xv SOD ὃ | 4 > \ 
ἀλλ᾽ ὠμὸς ὧν ἡδὺς σφόδρα Kal γλυκύς ἐστι: τὴν 
: > , 
δὲ γλυκύτητα ἰδίαν ἔχει. ἔνιοι δ᾽ ov μόνον δια- 





1 Plin. 13. 39. 

2 πρῶτον conj. Sch.; πρῶτος UMVAId. 

3 πῆχυν conj. R. Const. from Plin. 13. 45. and G, ef. Diod. 
2.53; στάχυν UMVAId. 

4 ἕπτα καὶ εὐπόδους UMV: the words perhaps conceal a 


138 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vr. 5-7 


in different soils the methods of cultivation should 
differ, like the trees themselves. 

1 There are several kinds of palm. To begin with, 
to take first the most important difference ;—some 
are fruitful and some not; and it is from this latter 
kind that the people of Babylon make their beds 
and other furniture. Again of the fruitful trees 
some are ‘male,’ others ‘female’; and these differ 
from one another in that the ‘male’ first? bears a 
Hower on the spathe, while the ‘female’ at once 
bearsasmall fruit. Again there are various differences 
in the fruits themselves ; some have no stones, others 
soft stones; as to colour, some are white, some black, 
some yellow; and in general they say that there is 
not less variety of colour and even of kind than in 
figs ; also that they differ in size and shape, some being 
round like apples and of such a size that four of them 
make up a cubit® in length,...* while others are 
small,5 no bigger than chick-peas ; and that there is 
also much difference in flavour. 

The best kind alike in size and in quality, whether 
of the white or black variety, is that which in either 
form is called ‘the royal palm’; but this, they say, 
is rare; it grows hardly anywhere except in the 
park of the ancient Bagoas,6 near Babylon. In 
Cyprus’ there is a peculiar kind of palm which does 
not ripen its fruit, though, when it is unripe, it is 
very sweet and luscious, and this lusciousness is of a 
peculiar kind. Some palms again ὃ differ not merely 
gloss on πῆχυν, 6.6. εἷς πῆχυς δύο πόδες (Salm.) ; om. G3 ἐνίοτε 
καὶ ἐπὶ πόδα conj. W. § Plin. 13. 42. 

6 Βαγῴου : Βάττου MSS. corr. by R. Const. from Plin. 13. 
41. τοῦ παλαίου apparently distinguishes this Bagoas from 


some more recent wearer of the name. 
7 Plin. 13. 33. * Plin,) 13. 28. 


139 


go 


THEOPHRASTUS 


φέρουσι τοῖς καρποῖς ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ δένδρῳ 
κατά τε τὸ μῆκος καὶ τὴν ἄλλην μορφήν" οὐ γὰρ 
μεγάλοι καὶ μακροὶ ἀλλὰ βραχεῖς, ἔτι δὲ καρπι- 
μώτεροι τῶν ἄλλων καὶ καρποφοροῦντες εὐθὺς 
τριετεῖς' πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ οὗτοι “περὶ Κύπρον. εἰσὶ 
δὲ καὶ περὶ Συρίαν. καὶ περὶ Αἴγυπτον φοίνικες 
οἱ φέρουσι τετραετεῖς καὶ πενταετεῖς ἀνδρομήκεις 
ὄντες. 

Ἕτερον δ᾽ ἔτι γένος ἐν ᾿ Κύπρῳ, ὃ ὃ καὶ τὸ φύλλον 
πλατύτερον ἔχει καὶ τὸν καρπὸν μείξω πολλῷ 
καὶ ἰδιόμορφον' μεγέθει μὲν ἡλίκος poa τῷ σχή- 
ματι δὲ προμήκης, οὐκ εὔχυλος δὲ ὥσπερ ἄλλοι 
ἀλλ᾽ ὅμοιος ταῖς poats, ὥστε μὴ καταδέχεσθαι 
ἀλλὰ διαμασησαμένους ἐκβάλλειν. γένη μὲν οὖν, 
ὥσπερ εἴρηται, πολλά. θησαυρίξεσθαι δὲ μόνους 
δύνασθαί φασι τῶν ἐν Συρίᾳ τοὺς ἐν τῷ αὐλῶνι, 
τοὺς δ᾽ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ Κύπρῳ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς 
ἄλλοις χλωροὺς ἀναλίσκεσθαι. 

Ἔστι δὲ ὁ φοῖνιξ ὡς μὲν ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν μονο- 
στέλεχες καὶ povopues: ov μὴν ἀλλὰ γίνονταί 
τινες καὶ διφυεῖς, ὥσπερ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, καθάπερ 
δικρόαν ἐ ἔχοντες" τὸ δ᾽ ἀνάστημα τοῦ στελέχους 
ἀφ᾽ οὗ ἡ σχίσις καὶ πεντάπηχυ' πρὸς ἄλληλα δέ 
πως ἰσάξοντα. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐν Κρήτῃ 
πλείους εἶναι τοὺς διφυεῖς, ἐ ἐνίους δὲ καὶ τριφυεῖς" 
ἐν δὲ τῇ Λαπαίᾳ τινὰ καὶ πεντακέφαλον' οὐκ 
ἄλογον γοῦν ἐν ταῖς εὐτροφωτέραις χώραις πλείω 
γίνεσθαι τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ τὸ ὅλον δὲ τὰ εἴδη πλείω 
καὶ τὰς διαφοράς. 





1 ὅμοιος conj. Bod.; ὁμοίως UMVAId. 4 of. §5. 
5. Plin. 13. 38; cf. 4. 2. 7, where the name (κουκιόφορον) of 
this tree is given. 


140 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, lI. νι. 7-9 


in their fruits but in the character of the tree itself 
as to stature and general shape; for instead of being 
large and tall they are low growing; but these are 
more fruitful than the others, and they begin to bear 
as soon as they are three years old; this kind too is 
common in Cyprus. Again in Syria and Egypt 
there are palms which bear when they are four or 
five years old, at which age they are the height of 
a man. 

There is yet another kind in Cyprus, which has 
broader leaves and a much larger fruit of peculiar 
shape; in size it is as large as a pomegranate, in 
shape it is long ; it is not however juicy like others, 
but like! a pomegranate, so that men do ποῖ 
swallow it, but chew it and then spit it out. Thus, 
as has been said, there are many kinds. The only 
dates that will keep, they say, are those which grow 
in the Valley? of Syria, while those that grow in 
Egypt Cyprus and elsewhere are used when fresh. 

The palm, speaking generally, has a single and 
simple stem; however there are some with two 
stems, as in Egypt,? which make a fork, as it were; 
the length of the stem up to the point where it 
divides is as much as five cubits, and the two 
branches of the fork are about equal in length. They 
say that the palms in Crete more often than not 
have this double stem, and that some of them have 
three stems; and that in Lapaia one with five heads 
has been known. It is after all not surprising 4 
that in more fertile soils such instances should be 
commoner, and in general that more kinds and more 
variation should be found under such conditions. 


4 οὐκ ἄλογον γοῦν conj. ὟΝ. (οὐκ ἄλογον δ᾽ Sch.) ; οὐ καλῶς 
γοῦν Ald.MU (marked doubtful). 


141 


10 


il 


THEOPHRASTUS 


/ , 

"Addo δέ τι γένος ἐστὶν 6 φασι γίνεσθαι 

“ \ \ > ’, ἃ na Iw 
πλεῖστον περὶ τὴν Αἰθιοπίαν, ὃ καλοῦσι κοϊκας' 
Φ Ν ΄ ? ἈΝ ἈΝ 7 ” 
οὗτοι δὲ θαμνώδεις, οὐχὶ Ev TO στέλεχος ἔχοντες 

/ / / Ν 
ἀλλὰ πλείω καὶ ἐνίοτε συνηρτημένα μέχρι τινὸς 
>? κά \ “ἢ > \ \ ᾽ ’ “ 
εἰς ἕν, τὰς δὲ ῥάβδους οὐ μακρὰς μὲν ἀλλ᾽ ὅσον 
’ >’ \ ’ὔ >’ \ \ fal » \ 

πηχυαίας, ἀλλὰ λείας, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἄκρων τὴν 

’ BA \ ᾿ς Ν / Mi ὌΠ 8. 
κόμην. ἔχουσι δὲ καὶ τὸ φύλλον πλατὺ καὶ ὧσ- 

a , 
περ ἐκ δυοῖν συγκείμενον ἐλαχίστοιν. καλοὶ δὲ 

\ ay / \ \ X\ \ Qn , 

καὶ τῇ ὄψει φαίνονται Tov δὲ καρπὸν καὶ τῷ σχη- 

ἴω Lal Lal » 
ματι καὶ τῷ μεγέθει καὶ τῷ χυλῷ διάφορον ἔχουσι" 
\ / 

στρογγυλώτερον yap Kal μείζω καὶ εὐστομώτερον 
ἧττον δὲ γλυκύν. πεπαίνουσι δὲ ἐν τρισὶν ἔτεσιν 
“ ,’ \ 

ὥστ᾽ ἀεὶ καρπὸν ἔχειν, ἐπικαταλαμβάνοντος 

ἴω \ lal nm 

τοῦ νέου τὸν ἔνον" ποιοῦσι δὲ καὶ ἄρτους ἐξ αὐτῶν' 
περὶ μὲν οὖν τούτων ἐπισκεπτέον. 

Οἱ δὲ χαμαιρριφεῖς καλούμενοι τῶν φοινίκων 
ἕτερόν τι γένος ἐστὶν ὥσπερ ὁμώνυμον" καὶ γὰρ 
ἐξαιρεθέντος τοῦ ἐγκεφάλου ζῶσι καὶ κοπέντες 

al a / 
ἀπὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν παραβλαστάνουσι. διαφέρουσι 
\ \ n ὃν ~ - / \ \ 
δὲ καὶ τῷ καρπῷ καὶ τοῖς φύλλοις: πλατὺ yap 
x Ν ? 
καὶ μαλακὸν ἔχουσι TO φύλλον, δι’ ὃ καὶ πλέ- 
An / 
κουσιν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τάς τε σπυρίδας καὶ TOUS 
/ Χ \ ae lal Vs V4 \ 
φορμούς: πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ Κρήτῃ γίνονται καὶ 
” a 9. Sy / rn \ ° > \ 
ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐν Σικελίᾳ. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ 
πλεῖον εἴρηται τῆς ὑποθέσεως. 


1 Phin, 137,47, 

2 κόϊκας conj. Salm. ef. 1. 10. 5, and the probable reading 
in Plin. 7.6; 

3 συνηρτημένα μέχρι τινὸς εἰς ἕν Conj. W.; συνηρτημένας μὲν 


142 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 11. vi. 10-11 


1There is another kind which is said to be 
abundant in Ethiopia, called the doum-palm?; this 
is a shrubby tree, not having a single stem but 
several, which sometimes are joined together up to 
a certain point®; and the leaf-stalks are not long,‘ 
only the length of a cubit, but they are plain,> and 
the leafage is borne only at the tip. The leaf is 
broad and, as it were, made up of at least® two 
leaflets. This tree is fair to look upon, and its fruit 
in shape size and flavour differs from the date, 
being rounder larger and pleasanter to the taste, 
though not so luscious. It ripens in three years, so 
that there is always fruit on the tree, as the new 
fruit overtakes that of last year. And they make 
bread out of it. These reports then call for 
enquiry. 

7 The dwarf-palm, as it is called, is a distinct kind, 
having nothing but its name ὃ in common with other 
palms. For if the head is removed, it survives, 
and, if it is cut down, it shoots again from the 
roots. It differs too in the fruit and leaves; for 
the leaf is broad and flexible, and so they weave 
their baskets and mats out of it. It is common in 
Crete and still more so in Sicily.® However in 
these matters we have said more than our purpose 
required. 


Ε] . 


εἰς ἕν Ὁ; συνηρτημένα μέχρι τινός εἰσι Ald.; συνηρτημένας μὲν 
μέχρι τινὸς εἶεν MV. 

4 μὲν ins. W. after Sch. (omitted above). 

5 7.e. without leaflets, except at the tip. 

8 ἐλαχίστοιν Bas. ; ἐλαχίστων U. cf. Arist. Hih. N. 6. 3. 3, 
ἐν ἐλαχίστοις δυσίν. 

7 Plin. 18. 99. 8. Yor ὁμώνυμον cf. 9. 10. 1 π. 

9.Α dwarf palm is now abundant at Selinunte: ef. Verg. 
Aen. 3. 705, palmosa Selinus. 


143 


THEOPHRASTUS 


2. Ἔν δὲ ταῖς τῶν ἄλλων φυτείαις ἀνάπαλιν 
,ὔ \ lal Ὁ 
τίθενται τὰ φυτευτήρια, καθάπερ τῶν κλημάτων. 
e \ > > \ / \ σ΄ \ ’ \ 
οἱ μὲν οὖν οὐθὲν διαφέρειν φασὶν ἥκιστα δὲ ἐπὶ 
ia) > 4 » \ ed 4 \ 
TOV ἀμπέλων: ἔνιοι δὲ poav δασύνεσθαι Kai 
/ “ \ / vy Ἢ ρ » 
σκιάζειν μᾶλλον τὸν καρπόν" ἔτι δὲ ἧττον ἀπο- 
/ \ ’ / \ “ , 
βάλλειν τοὺς κυτίνους. συμβαίνειν δὲ τοῦτο φασι 
\ > \ “ a > \ > / » / 
καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς συκῆς" οὐ yap ἀποβάλλειν ἀνάπαλιν 
φυτευθεῖσαν, ἔτι δ᾽ εὐβατωτέραν γίνεσθαι: οὐκ 
᾿] ’ 
ἀποβάλλειν δὲ οὐδ᾽ ἐάν τις ἀποκλάσῃ φυομένης 
εὐθὺς τὸ ἄκρον. 
΄-“3λ A , 
Αἱ μὲν οὖν φυτεῖαι καὶ γενέσεις ὃν τρόπον 
ἔχουσι σχεδὸν ὡς τύπῳ περιλαβεῖν εἴρηνται. 
an / na ’ 
VII. Περὶ δὲ τῆς ἐργασίας καὶ τῆς θεραπείας 
τὰ μέν ἐστι κοινὰ τὰ δὲ ἴδια καθ᾽ ἕκαστον. κοινὰ 
μὲν ἥ τε σκαπάνη καὶ ἡ ὑδρεία καὶ ἡ κόπρωσις, 
Μ \ ς Zz \ > Ἢ a BA 
ἔτι δὲ ἡ διακάθαρσις καὶ ἀφαίρεσις TOV αὔων. 
/ \ n a \ a \ Ν 
διαφέρουσι δὲ τῷ μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον. τὰ μὲν 
/ Ν / \ }] > e / ? ε 
φίλυδρα καὶ φιλόκοπρα τὰ δ᾽ οὐχ ὁμοίως, οἷον ἡ 
΄ “ > , ION , 
κυπάριττος, ἥπερ οὐ φιλόκοπρον οὐδὲ φίλυδρον, 
> \ Y 9 / 7ὔ 7 7, . 
ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπόλλυσθαί φασιν ἐάν γε νέαν οὖσαν 
ἐφυδρεύωσι πολλῷ. ῥόα δὲ καὶ ἄμπελος φίλυδρα. 
n \ > 4 \ id / \ \ 
συκῆ δὲ εὐβλαστοτέρα μὲν ὑδρενομένη τὸν δὲ 
ye an fal 
καρπὸν ἴσχει χείρω πλὴν τῆς Λακωνικῆς" αὕτη δὲ 
φίλυδρος. 


1 ἀνάπαλιν conj. Sch.; τἀνάπαλιν Ald. cf. C.P. 2. 9. 4; 
Geop. 10. 45; Plin. 17. 84. 2 οὖν ins. H. 

3 δασύνεσθαι: see LS. reff. 8.v. δασύς. 

4 6f. CPF 209.3. 

5 evBatwrépay (i.e. ‘more manageable’). The reference is 
to a method of keeping the tree dwarf (Bod.). Plin. /.c. has 


144 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vi. r2-vn. 1 


Further notes on the propagation of trees. 


To return to the other trees :—in propagating them 
they set the cuttings upside down,! as with vine-shoots. 
Some however? say that that makes no difference, 
and least of all in propagating the vine ; while others 
contend that the pomegranate thus propagated has 
a bushier growth? and shades the fruit better, and 
also that it is then 4 less apt to shed the flower. This 
also occurs, they say, with the fig; when it is set 
upside down, it does not shed its fruit, and it makes 
a more accessible ὃ tree ; and it does not shed its fruit, 
even if one breaks off the top ὅ as it begins to grow. 

Thus we have given a general sketch of what 
we find about methods of propagation, and of the 
ways in which these trees are reproduced. 


Of the cultivation of trees. 


VII. Τ Asto cultivation and tendance some require- 
ments apply equally to all trees, some are peculiar to 
one. Those which apply equally to all are spade- 
work watering and manuring, and moreover pruning 
and removal of dead wood. But different trees differ 
in the degree. Some love moisture and manure, 
some not so much, as the cypress,’ which? is fond 
neither of manure nor of water, but actually dies, 
they say, if it is overwatered when young. But the 
pomegranate and vine are water-loving. The fig 
grows more vigorously if it is watered, but then its 
fruit is inferior, except in the case of the Laconian 
variety, which is water-loving.! 
scansilem (so also G), which seems to be a rendering of εὐβατ. 
εὐβατοτέραν U. 

8 τὸ ἄκρον conj. R. Const. after G ; τὸν καρπὸν UMVP, Ald. 

7 Plin. 17. 246. BMP lime 17.24 7. 

9 ἥπερ conj. W. from G; ὥσπερ Ald. το C22 i316.) Ὁ: 


145 


2 


THEOPHRASTUS 


᾿Διακαθαίρεσθαι δὲ πάντα ἕητεῖ: βελτίω γὰρ 
τῶν αὔων ἀφαιρουμένων ὥσπερ ἀλλοτρίων, ἃ και 
τὰς αὐξήσεις καὶ τὰς τροφὰς ἐμποδίζει. du 0 
Kal... ὅταν ἢ γεράνδρυον | ὅλως κόπτουσιν" ἡ γὰρ 
βλάστησις νέα γίνεται τοῦ δένδρου. πλείστης δὲ 
διακαθάρσεώς φησιν. ᾿Ανδροτίων δεῖσθαι μύρρινον 
καὶ ἐλάαν" ὅσῳ γὰρ ἂν ἐλάττω καταλίπῃς, ἄμεινον 
βλαστήσει καὶ τὸν καρπὸν οἴσει πλείω" “πλὴν 
ἀμπέλου δῆλον ὅτι: ταύτῃ γὰρ ἀναγκαιότερον 
καὶ πρὸς βλάστησιν καὶ πρὸς εὐκαρπίαν. ἁπλῶς 
δὲ καὶ ταύτην καὶ τὴν ἄλλην θεραπείαν πρὸς τὴν 
ἰδίαν φύσιν ἑκάστῳ ποιητέον. 

Δεῖσθαι δέ φησιν ᾿Ανδροτίων καὶ κόπρου 
δριμυτάτης καὶ πλείστης ὑδρείας, ὥ ὥσπερ καὶ τῆς 

ιακαθάρσεως, ἔλάαν καὶ μύρρινον καὶ ῥόαν' οὐ 

γὰρ ἔχειν μήτραν οὐδὲ νόσημα κατὰ γῆς οὐδέν" 
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὰν παλαιὸν ἢ τὸ δένδρον, ἀποτέμνειν 
δεῖν τοὺς ἀκρεμόνας ἔπειτα τὸ στέλεχος θερα- 
πεύειν ὡσπερὰν ἐξ ἀρχῆς φυτευθέν' οὕτω δε 
φασι πολυχρονιώτερα καὶ ἰσχυρότατα μύρρινον 
εἶναι καὶ ἐλάαν. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐπισκέψαιτ᾽ 
ἄν τις, εἰ καὶ μὴ πάντα ἀλλὰ περί γε τῆς 
μήτρας. 

"H δὲ κόπρος οὔτε πᾶσιν ὁμοίως οὔθ᾽ ἡ αὐτὴ 
πᾶσιν ἁρμόττει" τὰ μὲν γὰρ δριμείας δεῖται τὰ 
δ᾽ ἧττον τὰ δὲ παντελῶς κούφης. “δριμυτάτη δὲ 
ἡ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου' καθάπερ καὶ Χαρτόδρας 
ἀρίστην μὲν ταύτην εἶναί φησι, δευτέραν δὲ τὴν 
ὑείαν, τρίτην δὲ αἰγός, τετάρτην δὲ προβάτου, 





1 Plin. 17. 248. 3 Name of tree missing. Sch. 
2 of. C.P. Ὁ. 10..4, 4 ταύτῃ conj. W.; ταύτης Ald. 


146 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vir. 2-4 


1 All trees require pruning ; for they are improved 
by removal of the dead wood, which is, as it were, a 
foreign body, and prevents growth and nourishment. 
Wherefore when the (tree)? becomes old, they cut 
off all its boughs: for then the tree breaks afresh. 
Androtion ® says that the myrtle and olive need more 
pruning than any other trees; for the smaller you 
leave them, the better they will grow, and they will 
bear better fruit. But the vine of course needs 
pruning even more ; for it is in the case of this tree * 
more necessary for promoting both growth and 
fruitfulness. However, speaking generally, both 
this and other kinds of tendance must be suited to 
the particular natural character in each case. 

Androtion further says that the olive the myrtle 
and the pomegranate require the most pungent 
manure and the heaviest watering, as well as the 
most thorough pruning, for that then they do not 
get ‘softwood’ ® nor any disease underground ; but 
when the tree is old, he adds, one should cut off the 
boughs, and then attend to the stem as though it 
were a tree just planted. Thus® treated they say 
that the myrtle and olive are longer lived and 
very robust. These statements might be a subject 
for further enquiry, or, if not all of them, at least what 
is stated of the ‘softwood.’ 

Manure does not suit all alike, nor is the same 
manure equally good for all. Some need it pungent, 
some less so, some need it quite light. The most 
pungent is human dung: thus Chartodras’ says 
that this is the best, pig-manure being second to it, 
goat-manure third, fourth that of sheep, fifth that of 


5 i.e. effete sap-wood. δ᾽ οὕτω conj. W.; οἱ Ald. 
7 Name perhaps corrupt. 


147 


THEOPHRASTUS 


πέμπτην δὲ Boos, ἕκτην δὲ THY λοφούρων. ἡ δὲ 
συρματῖτις ἄλλη καὶ ἄλλως: ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἀσθενε- 
στέρα ταύτης ἡ δὲ κρείττων. 

Τὴν δὲ σκαπάνην πᾶσιν οἴονται συμφέρειν, 
ὥσπερ καὶ τὴν ὄσκαλσιν τοῖς ἐλάττοσιν" εὐτρα- 
φέστερα γὰρ γίνεσθαι. τρέφειν δὲ δοκεῖ καὶ ὁ κονι- 
ορτὸς ἔνια καὶ θάλλειν ποιεῖν, οἷον τὸν βότρυν, Sv 
ὃ καὶ ὑποκονίουσι πολλάκις" οἱ δὲ καὶ τὰς συκᾶς 
ὑποσκάπτουσιν ἔνθα τούτου δεῖ. Μεγαροῖ δὲ 
καὶ τοὺς σικύους καὶ τὰς κολοκύντας, ὅταν οἱ 
ἐτησίαι πνεύσωσι, σκάλλοντες κονιορτοῦσι καὶ 
οὕτω γλυκυτέρους καὶ ἁπαλωτέρους ποιοῦσιν 
οὐχ ὑδρεύοντες. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ὁμολογούμενον. 
τὴν δ᾽ ἄμπελον οὔ φασί τινες δεῖν [ἢ] ὑποκονίειν 
οὐδ᾽ ὅλως ἅπτεσθαι περκάζοντος τοῦ βότρυος, 
GAN εἴπερ ὅταν ἀπομελανθῇ. οἱ δὲ τὸ ὅλον μηδὲ 
τότε πλὴν ὅσον ὑποτῖλαι τὴν βοτάνην' ὑπὲρ μὲν 
οὖν τούτων ἀμφισβητοῦσιν. 

> \ / ΄ > ᾽ >? ’ὔ 

Ἐὰν δέ τι μὴ φέρῃ KapT ov ἀλλ εἰς βλάστησιν 
τρέπηται, σχίζουσι τοῦ στελέχους τὸ κατὰ γῆν 
καὶ λίθον ἐντιθέασιν ὅπως ἂν ῥαγῇ, καί φασι 
φέρειν. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐάν τις τῶν ῥιζῶν τινας 
περιτέμῃ, δι’ ὃ καὶ τῶν ἀμπέλων ὅταν τραγῶσι 
τοῦτο ποιοῦσι τὰς ἐπιπολῆς. τῶν δὲ συκῶν 
πρὸς τῷ TEPUTEMVELY Kal τέφραν περιπάττουσι 
καὶ κατασχάζουσι τὰ στελέχη καὶ haat φέρειν 
μᾶλλον. ἀμυγδαλῇ δὲ καὶ πάτταλον ἐγκόψαντες 





1 Lit. ‘ bushy tails,’ ἡ.6. horses asses mules. 

CLEP 18s: 3 δεῖ ins. H ; so apparently G read. 

4 δεῖν ὑποκονίειν οὐδ᾽ ὅλως conj. W. (so Sch., but keeping 
[ἢ] after δεῖν) ; δεῖν ἢ ὑποκινιεῖν οὐδ᾽ ὅλως UMV; δεῖν ἢ ὑποκο- 
νιεῖν ἢ ὅλως Ald. 5 Plin. 17. 253 and 254. 


148 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 11. vir. 4-6 


oxen, and sixth that of beasts of burden.! Litter 
manure is of different kinds and is applied in various 
ways: some kinds are weaker, some stronger. 

Spade-work is held to be beneficial to all trees, 
and also hoeing for the smaller ones, as they then 
become more vigorous. Even dust? is thought to 
fertilise some things and make them flourish, for 
instance the grape; wherefore they often put dust to 
the roots of the vine. Some also dig in dust about 
the figs in places where it is deficient.* In Megara, 
when the etesian winds are past, they cover the 
cucumber and gourd plants with dust by raking, and 
so make the fruits sweeter and tenderer by not 
watering. On this point there is general agreement. 
But some say that dust should not be put to the vine,‘ 
and that it should not be meddled with at all when 
the grape is turning, or, if at all, only when it has 
turned black. Some again say that even then nothing 
should be done except to pluck up the weeds. So 
on this point there is a difference of opinion. 

5 If a tree does not bear fruit but inclines to a 
leafy growth, they split that part of the stem which 
is underground and insert a stone corresponding © to 
the crack thus made, and then, they say, it will bear. 
The same result follows, if one cuts off some of the 
roots, and accordingly they thus treat the surface 
roots of the vine when it runs to leaf. In the case 
of figs, in addition to root-pruning,’ they also sprinkle 
ashes about the tree, and make gashes in the stems, 
and then, they say, it bears better. ὃ Into the almond 
tree they drive an iron peg, and, having thus made 


6 ὅπως ἂν ῥαγῇ Ald.: so G; ? ὅπου ; ὅπως aveayn conj. ὟΝ, 
cf. Geop. 5. 35. Ὁ Phin. tc. 
ΞΟ 11 Ὁ Ne Viet lO; 214. 1 Eun. 7.209: 


149 


THEOPHRASTUS 


σιδηροῦν ὅταν τετράνωσιν ἄλλον ἀντεμβάλλουσι 
δρύϊνον καὶ τῇ γῇ κρύπτουσιν: ὃ καὶ καλοῦσί 
τινες κολάζειν ὡς ὑβρίζον τὸ δένδρον. 

Ταὐτὸν δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀπίου καὶ ἐπ᾽ 
ἄλλων τινὲς ποιοῦσιν. ἐν ᾿Αρκαδίᾳ δὲ καὶ 
εὐθύνειν καλοῦσι τὴν ὄαν' πολὺ γὰρ τὸ δένδρον 
τοῦτο παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἐστι. καί φασιν, ὅταν πάθῃ 
τοῦτο, τὰς μὲν μὴ φερούσας φέρειν τὰς δὲ μὴ 
πεττούσας ἐκπέττειν καλῶς. ἀμυγδαλῆν δὲ καὶ 
ἐκ πικρᾶς γίγνεσθαι γλυκεῖαν, ἐάν τις περιορύξας 
τὸ στέλεχος καὶ τιτράνας ὅσον τε παλαιστιαῖον 
τὸ πανταχόθεν ἀπορρέον δάκρυον ἐπὶ ταὐτὸ ἐᾷ 
καταρρεῖν. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἂν εἴη πρός τε τὸ φέρειν 
ἅμα καὶ πρὸς τὸ εὐκαρτπεῖν. 

VIII. ᾿Αποβάλλει δὲ πρὸ τοῦ πέψαι τὸν καρ- 
πὸν ἀμυγδαλῆ μηλέα ῥόα ἄπιος καὶ μάλιστα δὴ 
πάντων συκῆ καὶ φοῖνιξ, πρὸς ἃ καὶ τὰς βοηθείας 
ζητοῦσι: ὅθεν καὶ ὁ ἐρινασμός: ἐκ γὰρ τῶν 
ἐκεῖ κρεμαννυμένων ἐρινῶν ψῆνες ἐκδυόμενοι κατε- 
σθίουσι καὶ πιαίνουσι τὰς κορυφάς. διαφέρουσι 
δὲ καὶ αἱ χῶραι πρὸς τὰς ἀποβολάς: περὶ γὰρ 
᾿Ιταλίαν οὔ φασιν ἀποβάλλειν, δι’ ὃ οὐδ᾽ ἐρι- 





1 The operation being performed at the base of the tree. 
Co) 2 ἐκπέττειν conj. R. Const.; εἰσπέττειν UMAId. 

3 Plin. 17. 252. 

4 τὸ παντάχοθεν conj. W.; παντάχοθεν τὸ MSS.; so ap- 
parently G. ef. C.P. 2. 14. 4. 

5 πέψαι conj. Sch.; πέμψαι Ald. 

6 ἐκεῖ κρεμαννυμένων ἐρινῶν I conj.; ἐκεῖ κρεμαννυμένων Ald. : 
ἐπικρεμαμένων ἐρινῶν conj. W.: but the present partic. is used 
CP. θυ δι 


150 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vir. 6-vor. 1 


a hole, insert in its place a peg of oak-wood and 
bury it! in the earth, and some call this ‘ punishing’ 
the tree, since its luxuriance is thus chastened. 

Some do the same with the pear and with other 
trees. In Arcadia they have a similar process which is 
called ‘correcting’ the sorb (for that tree is com- 
mon in that country). And they say that under 
this treatment those trees that would not bear do 
so, and those that would not ripen their fruit now 
ripen? them well. ?It is also said that the almond 
becomes sweet, instead of bitter, if one digs round 
the stem and, having bored a hole about a palms- 
breadth, allows the gum which exudes from all 
sides 4 to flow down into it and collect. The object 
of this would be alike to make the tree bear and to 
improve the fruit. 


Of remcdies for the shedding of the fruit: caprification. 


VIII. Trees which are apt to shed their fruit before 
ripening® it are almond apple pomegranate pear 
and, above all, fig and date-palm; and men try to 
find the suitable remedies for this. This is the 
reason for the process called ‘ caprification’ ; gali- 
insects come out of the wild figs which are hanging 
there,® eat the tops of the cultivated figs and so 
make them swell.’ The shedding of the fruit differs 
according to the soil: in Italy*® they say that it 
does not occur, and so they do not use caprification,® 


7 πιαίνουσι MVAI.; διείρουσι conj.W. ? πεπαίνουσι, ‘ripen,’ 
which is the word used in the parallel pass. C. P. 2. 9. 6, the 
object of the process being to cause the figs to dry. 

8 Plin. 15. 81. ‘Italy’ means South Italy. of. 4. 5. 5 and 
0.7. 0..8:.1: 

® ἐρινάζουσιν conj. Bod.; ἐρινοῦσιν Ald. Η, 


ISI 


THEOPHRASTUS 


νάζουσιν' οὐδ᾽ ἐν τοῖς καταβορείοις Kal λεπτο- 
γείοις, οἷον ἐπὶ Φαλύκῳ τῆς Μεγαρίδος: οὐδὲ τῆς 
Κορινθίας ἔν τισι τόποις. ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ἡ 
τῶν πνευμάτων κατάστασις" βορείοις γὰρ μᾶλλον 
ἢ νοτίοις ἀποβάλλουσι, κἂν ᾿Ψυχρότερα καὶ 
πλείω γένηται μᾶλλον. ἔτι δ᾽ αὐτῶν τῶν δένδρων 
ἡ φύσις" τὰ πρώϊα γὰρ ἀποβάλλει, τὰ δ᾽ ὄψια 
οὐκ ἐκβάλλει, καθάπερ ἡ Λακωνικὴ καὶ αἱ ἄλλαι. 
be’ ὃ Kal οὐκ ἐρινάξουσι ταύτας. ταῦτα μὲν 
οὖν ἔν τε τοῖς τόποις καὶ τοῖς γένεσι καὶ τῇ 
καταστάσει τοῦ ἀέρος ἔχει τὰς διαφοράς. 

2 {1 Oude Wives ἐκδύονται μὲν ἐκ τοῦ ἐρινεοῦ, 
καθάπερ εἴρηται" γίνονται δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν κεγχραμίδων. 
σημεῖον δὲ λέγουσιν, ὅτι ἐπειδὰν ἐκδύωσιν οὐκ 
ἔνεισι κεγχραμίδες. ἐκδύονται δὲ οἱ πολλοὶ 
ἐγκαταλιπόντες ἢ πόδα ἢ πτερόν. γένος δέ τι 
καὶ ἕτερόν ἐστι τῶν ψηνῶν, ὃ καλοῦσι κεντρίνας" 
οὗτοι δ᾽ ἀργοὶ καθάπερ κηφῆνες" καὶ ποὺς εἰσδυο- 
μένους τῶν ἑτέρων κτείνουσιν αὐτοὶ δὲ ἐναπο- 
θνήσκουσιν. ἐπαινοῦσι δὲ μάλιστα τῶν ἐρινῶν 
τὰ μέλανα τὰ ἐκ τῶν πετρωδῶν χωρίων" πολλὰς 

3 yap ἔχει ταῦτα κεγχραμίδας. γιγνώσκεται δὲ 
τὸ ἐρινασμένον τῷ ἐρυθρὸν εἶναι καὶ ποικίλον καὶ 
ἰσχυρόν' τὸ δ᾽ ἀνερίναστον λευκὸν καὶ ἀσθενές" 
προστιθέασι δὲ τοῖς δεομένοις ὅταν ὕσῃ. ὅπου 
δὲ πλεῖστος κονιορτός, ἐνταῦθα πλεῖστα καὶ 


en S25 ΤΊΣ 

2 ψυχρότερα καὶ πλείω conj. Sch.; τεχνοτέρα καὶ πλείων MV 
Ald. ; τεχρότερα καὶ πλείω U. 

3 πρωΐα conj. Sch. from G; πρῶτα Ald. H. 

4 Plin. 17. 255 and 256. 


152 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vin. 1-3 


nor is it practised in places which face north nor in 
those with light soils, as at Phalykos! in the 
Megarid, nor in certain parts of the district of 
Corinth. Also conditicns as to wind make a differ- 
ence; the fruit is shed more with northerly than 
with southerly winds, and this also happens more 
if the winds are cold and frequent.2, Moreover the 
character of the tree itself makes a difference; for 
some kinds, such as the Laconian and other such 
kinds, shed their early? figs but not the later 
ones. Wherefore caprification is not practised with 
these. Such are the changes to which the fig 
is subject in respect of locality kind and climatic 
conditions. 

4 Now the gall-insects come, as has been said, out 
of the wild fig, and they are engendered from the 
seeds. The proof given of this is that, when they 
come out, there are no seeds left in the fruit; and 
most of them in coming out leave a leg or a wing 
behind. There is another kind of gall-insect which is 
called kentrines; these insects are sluggish, like drones, 
they kill those of the other kind who are entering 
the figs, and they themselves die in the fruit. The 
black kind of wild fig which grows in rocky places 
is most commended for caprification, as these figs 
contain numerous seeds.6 A fig which has been 
subject to caprification is known by being red and 
parti-coloured and stout, while one which has not 
been so treated is pale and sickly. The treatment 
is applied to the trees which need it, after rain. 
The wild figs are most plentiful and most potent 


5 ¢.e. and so should produce more gall-insects: in C.P. 
2. 9. 6 it is implied that the insect is produced by putrefac- 
tion of the seeds of the wild fig. 


153 


THEOPHRASTUS 


? Ud A > Xi / \ Ne os 4 
ἰσχυρότατα Ta ἐρινὰ γίνεται. φασὶ δὲ ἐρινάζειν 
Ν φ / a \ 3 ’ὔ 
καὶ τὸ πόλιον, ὁπόταν αὐτῷ καρπὸς ἡ πολύς, καὶ 

n 7 / \ 
TOUS τῆς πτελέας κωρύκους" ἐγγίνεται yap Kal ἐν 
[ὰ / ᾽ an ¢ a lal 
τούτοις θηρίδι᾽ ἄττα. κνῖπες ὅταν ἐν ταῖς συκαῖς 
΄ \ a , \ 4 
γίνωνται κατεσθίουσι τοὺς Whvas. ἄκος δὲ τούτου 
’ a \ 
φασὶν εἶναι τοὺς καρκίνους προσπερονᾷν" πρὸς 
/ \ a 
yap τούτους τρέπεσθαι τοὺς κνῖπας. ἀλλὰ 
a \ “- 2 
yap δὴ ταῖς μὲν συκαῖς αὗται βοήθειαι. 
Nw \ / alee J ἣν ἴω , / Ν \ 
Tots δὲ φοίνιξιν αἱ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀρρένων πρὸς τοὺς 
id lal 
θήλεις: οὗτοι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ ἐπιμένειν ποιοῦντες 
¢ a , an « , 
καὶ ἐκπέττειν, ὃ καλοῦσί τινες ἐκ τῆς ὁμοιότητος 
3 / / Xx / Ν / “ 
ὀλυνθάζειν. γίνεται δὲ τόνδε τὸν τρόπον. ὅταν 
lel / \ ΄ , 
ἀνθῇ τὸ ἄρρεν, ἀποτέμνουσι τὴν σπάθην ἐφ 
er 4 a 
ἧς τὸ ἄνθος εὐθὺς ὥσπερ ἔχει, TOV TE χνοῦν Kal 
\ \ / 
τὸ ἄνθος καὶ τὸν κονιορτὸν κατασείουσι κατὰ 
an n a ’ a r 
τοῦ καρποῦ τῆς θηλείας" Kav τοῦτο πάθη, διατηρεῖ 
/ > a \ “ 
καὶ οὐκ ἀποβάλλει. φαίνεται δ᾽ ἀμφοῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ 
fal 7, , an 
ἄρρενος τοῖς θήλεσι βοήθεια γίνεσθαι: θῆλυ yap 
fa) \ / ’ ᾽ e \ φ val 
καλοῦσι TO καρποφόρον" ἀλλ᾽ ἡ μὲν οἷον μίξις" 
« Ν DF ὦ / 
ἡ δὲ KAT ἄλλον τρόπον. 





1 ὁπότ᾽ ἂν... πολύς conj. W. from G, cum coptiose fructi- 
ficat; ὁπόταν αἰγίπυρος ἢ πολύς MSS. U adds καὶ before 
ὁπόταν. 

2 κωρύκους I conj. In 3. 14. 1. the elm is said to bear 
κωρυκίδες which contain gnat-like creatures; these growths 
are called κωρυκώδη τινα κοῖλα 3. 15. 4; and in 3. 7. 3. the 


154 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 11. vin. 3-4 


where there is most dust. And they say that 
hulwort also, when it fruits freely,! and the “ gall- 
bags’ 2 of the elm are used for caprification. For 
certain little creatures are engendered in these also. 
When the nips is found in figs, it eats the gall-insects. 
It is to prevent this, it is said, that they nail up 
the crabs; forthe knzps then turns its attention to 
these. Such are the ways of assisting the fig- 
trees. 

With dates it is helpful to bring the male to the 
female; for it is the male which causes the fruit to 
persist and ripen, and this process some call, by 
analogy, ‘the use of the wild fruit.’3 | The process 
is thus performed : when the male palm is in flower, 
they at once cut off the spathe on which the flower 
is, just as it is, and shake the bloom with the flower 
and the dust over the fruit of the female, and, if this 
is done to it, it retains the fruit and does not shed 
it. Inthe case both of the fig and of the date it 
appears that the ‘ male’ renders aid to the ‘ female,’ 
—for the fruit-bearing tree is called ‘female’— 
but while in the latter case there is a union of the 
two sexes, in the former the result is brought about 
somewhat differently. 


same thing is referred to as τὸ θυλακῶδες τοῦτο, where τοῦτο 
=‘ the well-known’; cf. also 9. 1. 2, where Sch. restores 
κωρύκους ; cf. Pall. 4. 10. 28. κυπαίρους (3) U ; κυπέρους MV; 
κύπεριν Ald.; κυττάρους conj. W. 

3 ὀλυνθάζειν, from ὄλυνθος, a kind of wild fig, as ἐρινάζειν, 
from ἐρινός, the wild fig used for caprification. cf. C.P. 
3. 18:}- 


155 


beg ον "ἢ μερκονσμανῃ 


“ἢ ἀβοοβα ahr Th 
rere 
ae ra 


ne τ 
petal ritdae! ‘ah 
faldbenc els epee νὴ ΠΥ OF 
ἀπ αοξοννθγ δυο πα αὐτο, ουσπὶι salindbsg plats agli 
ih 56, nig Rm ar tte “ἐδ eal 
wens 
οἷν of. this HF grid Ἂ Yi oe Pi ry ‘eel Bs) Wo 
‘og abe! ἐπα" pains Abeta She PETE Toe eS 
«ἀπ arene! eesgvy Ht Chin ΗΔ ΒΕ ed = dog 
Spam APS ak lien salen Sent One yeaa | 
soak wheat 1d IBLE ath OR > Gore vorrei a 
ihe < τον κῃ) μέν ἼΩΝ Hote αὐ ΔΝ 
lt \4 fin Heol load ἿΣ tails. binge ie ‘as ie 
a bith’. Alaa, aiid To ais) ss yore bs ὃ 
δ Se Roan ‘bile να FP Ἂς ΟἿ 
Src αὐδκι αν ἥδ᾽ ἐν enh ἡ ὐ ἢ ame 
silanicdst φίλο ἐμ ρα Ηρ αὐ dae τὴ Gadd gpd 
(clams, holies δου οιθα ai 
Hild τὸ πολι κα Bia ited pumwed al ody μὲ αν 
spel ti Huis. a Moers ae seamrie) orld οὐ δοχόν ἢ 
ria ἈΒΗΘΑΘ διαϊνεααίθδ «| 


οΥὐνον aneilw " ya  iehcuenue = ie οἱ winter ‘ei Μὰ 1 
ar ae. ye, ΜΟΥ. PN a ΟῚ eco aA ΓΙ ida τον 
dai he heel AN ἐδ ϑϑι ὁ ety’ Was 





sie τῆν Ἔν τὸ eh ene 
get. 





BOOK III 


jj 


Ι. "Emel δὲ περὶ τῶν ἡμέρων δένδρων εἴρηται, 
γ΄ / ἴω / » 
λεκτέον ὁμοίως καὶ περὶ τῶν ἀγρίων, εἴ TE τι 
\ > = , " 7) 
ταὐτὸν Kal ἕτερον ἔχουσι τοῖς ἡμέροις εἴ θ᾽ ὅλως 
an / 
ἴδιον τῆς φύσεως. 
9 nr a ᾽ 
Al μὲν οὖν γενέσεις ἁπλαῖ τινες αὐτῶν εἰσι" 
΄ \ A > \ / Ἃ > \ ee / 
πάντα Yap ἢ ἀπὸ σπέρματος ἢ ἀπὸ ῥίζης φύεται. 
lal ᾽ ’ 6 ΕῚ ᾽ / Xo 3 ᾽ 
τοῦτο δ᾽ οὐχ ὡς οὐκ ἐνδεχόμενον καὶ ἄλλως, ἀλλ 
Μ» ἊΝ Ν \ a / \ ΄ 
ἴσως διὰ τὸ μὴ πειρᾶσθαι μηδένα μηδὲ φυτεύειν' 
7 ΄ > oN > / , 2 ’ 
ἐκφύοιτο δ᾽ ἂν εἰ λαμβάνοιεν τόπους ἐπιτηδείους 
, “ ἴω 
καὶ θεραπείαν τὴν ἁρμόττουσαν' ὥσπερ καὶ νῦν 
/ 
Ta ἀλσώδη καὶ φίλυδρα, λέγω δ᾽ οἷον πλάτανον 
/ / ’ , 
itéav λεύκην αἴγειρον πτελέαν: ἅπαντα yap 
ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα φυτευόμενα βλαστάνει καὶ 
τάχιστα καὶ κάλλιστα ἀπὸ τῶν παρασπάδων, 
ef \ / ” » \ > / 7 
ὥστε καὶ μεγάλας οὔσας ἤδη Kal ἰσοδένδρους av 
a / 7 \ 
τις μεταθῇ διαμένειν: φυτεύεται δὲ τὰ πολλὰ 
a \ 
αὐτῶν Kal καταπηγνύμενα, καθάπερ ἡ λεύκη καὶ 
ἡ αἴγειρος. 
r 4 \ 9 A a a \ A 
Toutwy μὲν οὖν πρὸς τῇ σπερματικῇ καὶ TH 
a n δ / / a 
ἀπὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν καὶ αὕτη γένεσίς ἐστι; τῶν δὲ 


1 ἐκφύοιτο conj. W.; ἐπιφύοιτο UMVAId. 
158 


BOOK, Ill 


Or Witp TREES. 
Of the ways in which wild trees originate. 


I. Now that we have spoken of cultivated trees, 
we must in like manner speak of wild ones, noting 
in what respects they agree with or differ from 
cultivated trees, and whether in any respects their 
character is altogether peculiar to themselves. 

Now the ways in which they come into being are 
fairly simple ; they all grow either from seed or from 
a root. But the reason of this is not that they 
could not possibly grow in any other way, but merely 
perhaps that no one even tries to plant them other- 
wise; whereas they might grow! from slips, if they 
were provided with a suitable position and received 
the fitting kind of tendance, as may be said even 
now of the trees of woodland and marsh, such as 
plane willow abele black poplar and elm; all these 
and other similar trees grow very quickly and well 
when they are planted from pieces torn off, so that * 
they survive, even if at the time of shifting they are 
already tall and as big as trees. Most of these are 
simply planted by being set firmly, for instance, the 
abele and the black poplar. 

Such is the way in which these originate as well 
as from seed or from roots; the others grow only 

2 ὥστε καὶ wey. conj. Sch.; καὶ ὥστε καὶ wey. UM; καὶ ὥστε 


μεγ. PAId. 
159 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἄλλων ἐκεῖναι: πλὴν ὅσα “μόνον ἀπὸ σπέρματος 
φύεται, καθάπερ ἐλάτη πεύκη πίτυς. ὅσα δὲ ἔ ἔχει 
σπέρμα καὶ καρπόν, κἂν ἀπὸ ῥίζης γίνηται, καὶ 
ἀπὸ τούτων" ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰ δοκοῦντα ἄκαρπα εἶναι 
γεννᾶν φασιν, οἷον πτελέαν itéav. σημεῖον δὲ 
λέγουσιν οὐ μόνον ὅτι φύεται πολλὰ τῶν ῥιζῶν 
ἀπηρτημένα καθ᾽ ods ἂν ἢ τόπους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ 
συμβαίνοντα θεωροῦντες, οἷον ἐν Φενεῷ τῆς 
᾿Αρκαδίας, ὡς ἐξερράγη τὸ συναθροισθὲν ὕδωρ ἐν 
τῷ πεδίῳ φραχθέντων τῶν βερέθρων' ὅπου μὲν 
ἐγγὺς ἦσαν ἰτέαι πεφυκυῖαι τοῦ καταποθέντος 
τόπου, τῷ ὑστέρῳ ἔτει μετὰ τὴν ἀναξήρανσιν 
ἐνταῦθα αὖθις ἀναφῦναί φασιν ἰτέαν' ὅπου δὲ 
πτελέαι αὖθις πτελέας, καθάπερ καὶ ὅπου πεῦκαι 
καὶ ἔλαται πεύκας καὶ ἐλάτας, ὥσπερ μιμουμένων 
κἀκείνων. 

᾿Αλλὰ τὴν ἐτέαν ταχὺ προκαταβάλλειν πρὸ 
τοῦ τελείως ἁδρῦναι καὶ πέψαι τὸν καρπόν' 
δι’ ὃ καὶ τὸν ποιητὴν οὐ κακῶς προσαγορεύειν 
αὐτὴν ὠλεσίκαρπον. 

Τῆς δὲ πτελέας κἀκεῖνο σημεῖον ὑπολαμβά.- 
νουσιν' ὅταν yap ἀπὸ τῶν πνευμάτων εἰς τοὺς 
ἐχομένους τόπους ὁ καρπὸς ἀπενεχθῇ, φύεσθαί 
φασι. παραπλήσιον δὲ ἔοικεν εἶναι τὸ συμβαῖνον 
ὃ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν φρυγανικῶν καὶ ποιωδῶν τινών 
ἐστιν; οὐκ ἐχόντων γὰρ σπέρμα φανερόν, ἀλλὰ 





1 of. 5. 4 6. 

2 *Katavothra’ (now called ‘the devil’s holes,’ see Lawson, 
cited below) ; cf. Paus. 8. 14; Catull. 68. 109; Plut. de sera 
numinis vindicta, 557 c: Plin. 31. 36; Frazer, Pausanias and 
other Greek Sketches, pp. 315 foll. ; Lawson, Afodern Greek 
Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion, p. 85. 


160 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1. 2-3 


in these two ways—while some of them, such as 
silver-fir fir and Aleppo pine grow only from seed. 
All those that have seed and fruit, even if they grow 
from a root, will grow from seed too; for they say 
that even those which, like elm and willow, appear 
to have no fruit reproduce themselves. For proof 
they give the fact that many such trees come up at a 
distance from the roots of the original tree, what- 
ever the position may be; and further, they have 
observed a thing which occasionally happens ; for in- 
stance, when at Pheneos! in Arcadia the water which 
had collected in the plain since the underground 
channels? were blocked burst forth, where there 
were willows growing near the inundated region, the 
next year after it had dried up they say that willows 
grew again; and where there had been elms, elms " 
grew, even as, where there had been firs and silver- 
firs, these trees reappeared—as if the former trees 
followed the example of the latter. 

But the willow is said to shed its fruit early, before 
it is completely matured and ripened; and so the 
poet® not unfittingly calls it “the willow which loses 
its fruit.” 

That the elm also reproduces itself the following 
is taken to be a proof: when the fruit is carried by 
the winds to neighbouring spots, they say that young 
trees grow from it. Something similar to this 
appears to be what happens in the case of certain 
under-shrubs and herbaceous plants; though they 
have no visible seed, but some of them only a sort of 


3 πτελέας αὖθις πτελέας Conj. St.; πτελέας ἀντὶ πελέας U; 
πτελέας ἀντὶ πτελέας MV; πτελέας αὖθις πτελέας Ρ; πτελέα 
αὖθις πτελέας Ald, 

4 ὦ 6. by growing from seed, as conifers normally do. 

5 Homer, Od. 10. 510; ef. Plin. 16. 110. 


161 


THEOPHRASTUS 


τῶν μὲν οἷον χνοῦν τῶν δ᾽ ἄνθος, ὥσπερ TO θύμον, 
ὅμως ἀπὸ τούτων βλαστάνουσιν. ἐπεὶ Pave 
πλάτανος ἔχει φανερῶς καὶ ἀπὸ τούτων φύεται. 
τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐξ ἄλλων τε δῆλον κἀκεῖνο μέγιστον 
σημεῖον" ὠφθη γὰρ ἤδη ποτὲ πεφυκυῖα πλάτανος 
ἐν τρίποδι χαλκῷ. 

Ταύτας τε δὴ τὰς γενέσεις ὑποληπτέον εἶναι 
τῶν ἀγρίων καὶ ἔτι τὰς αὐτομάτους, ἃς καὶ οἱ 
φυσιολόγοι λέγουσιν' ᾿Αναξαγόρας μὲν τὸν ἀέρα 
πάντων φάσκων ἔχειν σπέρματα καὶ ταῦτα 
συγκαταφερόμενα τῷ ὕδατι γεννᾶν τὰ φυτά' 
Διογένης δὲ σηπομένου τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ μίξιν 
τινὰ λαμβάνοντος πρὸς τὴν. γῆν" ᾿Κλείδημος δὲ 
συνεστάναι μὲν ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν τοῖς ζώοις, ὅσῳ 
δὲ θολερωτέρων καὶ ψυχροτέρων τοσοῦτον ἀπέχειν 
τοῦ ζῶα εἶναι. [λέγουσι δέ τινες καὶ ἄλλοι περὶ 
τῆς γενέσεως. 

᾿Αλλ αὕτη μὲν ἀπηρτημένη πώς ἐστι τῆς 
αἰσθήσεως. ἄλλαι δὲ ,ὁμολογούμεναι καὶ ἐμφα- 
νεῖς, οἷον ὅταν ἔφοδος γένηται ποταμοῦ παρεκβάν. 
τος τὸ ῥεῖθρον ἢ καὶ ὅλως ἑτέρωθι ποιησαμένου, 
καθάπερ ἃ Νέσος ἐν τῇ ᾿Αβδηρίτιδι πολλάκις 
μεταβαίνει, καὶ ἅμα τῇ μεταβάσει τοσαύτην 
ὕλην συγγεννᾷ τοῖς τόποις, ὥστε τῷ τρίτῳ ἔτει 
συνηρεφεῖν. καὶ πάλιν ὅταν ἐπομβρίαι κατά- 
σχωσι πλείω χρόνον" καὶ γὰρ ἐν ταύταις βλαστή- 
σεις γίνονται φυτῶν. ἔοικε δὲ ἡ μὲν τῶν ποταμῶν 
ἔφοδος ἐπάγειν σπέρματα καὶ καρπούς, καὶ τοὺς 
ὀχετούς φασι τὰ τῶν ποιωδῶν' ἡ δ᾽ ἐπομβρία 





τ idea, Lame 2 
2. Sc. of Apollonia, the ‘Ionian ’ philosopher. 
© cf. C.F, 1. 102 iid. θὲ. das, ἈΤΙΒΙν δίδουν 2. 9. 


162 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1. 3-5 


down, and others only a flower, such as thyme, young 
plants nevertheless grow from these. As for the 
plane, it obviously has seeds, and seedlings grow 
from them. This is evident in various ways, and 
here is a very strong proof—a plane-tree has before 
now been seen which came up in a brass pot. 

Such we must suppose are the ways in which wild 
trees originate, apart from the spontaneous ways 
of which natural philosophers tell. 1 Anaxagoras 
says that the air contains the seeds of all things, 
and that these, carried down by the rain, produce 
the plants; while Diogenes? says that this happens 
when water decomposes and mixes in some sort with 
earth. 3Kleidemos maintains that plants are made 
of the same elements as animals, but that they fall 
short of being animals in proportion as their com- 
position is less pure and as they are colder. * And 
there are other philosophers also who speak of 
spontaneous generation. 

But this kind of generation is somehow beyond 
the ken of our senses. There are other admitted 
and observable kinds, as when a river in flood gets 
over its banks or has altogether changed its course, 
even as the Nesos in the district of Abdera often 
alters its course, and in so doing causes such a 
growth of forest in that region that by the third 
year it casts a thick shade. The same result ensues 
when heavy rains prevail for a long time; during 
these too many plants shoot up. Now, as the 
flooding of a river, it would appear, conveys seeds 
and fruits of trees, and, as they say, irrigation channels 
convey the® seeds of herbaceous plants, so heavy 


4 λέγουσι. . . γενεσέως apparently a gloss (W.). 
8. τὰ conj. W.; τὴν MAId. 


163 


THEOPHRASTUS 


- a > , \ \ 
τοῦτο ποιεῖ ταῦτο' συγκαταῴφερει yap πολλὰ 
lal Nip ee a / a “ 
τῶν σπερμάτων, καὶ ἅμα σῆψίν τινα τῆς γῆς καὶ 
re ὁ ἣν > \ bares / 2.4% a > , 
τοῦ ὕδατος" ἐπεὶ καὶ ἡ μίξις αὐτὴ τῆς Αἰγυπτίας 
“ “ val ec rn , 
γῆς δοκεῖ τινα γεννᾶν ὕλην. ἐνιαχοῦ de, ἂν μόνον 
/ \ 
ὑπεργάσωνται Kal κινήσωσιν, εὐθὺς ἀναβλαστάνει 
lal n 4 “ ΄,ὔ 
Ta οἰκεῖα τῆς χώρας, ὥσπερ ἐν Κρήτῃ κυπάριττοι. 
\ / a 
γίνεται δὲ παραπλήσιόν τι τούτῳ Kal ἐν τοῖς 
b] / Ψ \ / > / 
ἐλάττοσιν: ἅμα yap κινουμένης ἀναβλαστάνει 
πόα τις ἐν ἑκάστοις. ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἡμιβρόχοις ἐὰν 
΄ lf / / / Φ \ 
ὑπονεάσῃς φαίνεσθαί φασι TpiBorov. αὗται μὲν 
fal fol “ / ’ 
οὖν ἐν τῇ μεταβολῇ τῆς χώρας εἰσίν, εἴτε καὶ 
ἐνυπαρχόντων σπερμάτων εἴτε καὶ αὐτῆς πως 
διατιθεμένης: ὅπερ ἴσως οὐκ ἄτοπον ἐγκατα- 
a “-“ lal \ 
κλειομένων ἅμα τῶν ὑγρῶν" ἐνιαχοῦ δὲ Kal ὑδάτων 
J / > , > ~ “ fol 
ἐπιγινομένων ἰδιώτερον ἀνατεῖλαι ὕλης πλῆθος, 
f , \ 
ὥσπερ ev Κυρήνη πιττώδους τινὸς γενομένου καὶ 
/ Ὁ \ > ΄ e ’ὔ ee 
παχέος: οὕτως yap ἀνεβλάστησεν ἡ πλησίον ὕλη 
, > = \ N \ , / 
πρότερον οὐκ οὖσα. φασὶ δὲ Kal TO γε σίλφιον 
, , \ , .Β 
οὐκ ὃν πρότερον ἐκ τοιαύτης τινὸς αἰτίας φανῆ- 
, \ a lal 
val. τρόποι μὲν οὖν τοιοῦτοι τῶν τοιουτων 
γενέσεων. 
’ ’ 
Il. Πάντα δὲ κάρπιμα ἢ ἄκαρπα, καὶ ἀείφυλλα 
ἢ φυλλοβόλα, καὶ ἀνθοῦντα ἢ ἀνανθῆ: κοιναὶ 





1 ἢ δ᾽... ταὐτὸ conj. W.; ἡ δ᾽ ἐπ. τοῦτ᾽ αὖ ἐποίει ταὐτὸ 
UMV (δ᾽ αὖ marked doubtful in Ὁ) ; ἡ δ᾽ ἐπ. τοῦτ᾽ αὐτὸ ἐποίει 
Ald. 2 Phin: 16.142, 

3 7,e. and is released by working the ground. 

‘of. C.P. 1. 5. 1; Plin. 16. 143, who gives the date 
A.U.0. 180; ef. 19. 41. 


164 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1. 5-0. 1 


rain acts in the same way!; for it brings down 
many of the seeds with it,and at the same time 
causes a sort of decomposition of the earth and of 
the water. In fact, the mere mixture of earth with 
water in Egypt seems to produce a kind of vegeta- 
tion. And in some places, if the ground is merely 
lightly worked and stirred, the plants native to the 
district immediately spring up; 2 for instance, the 
cypress in Crete. And something similar to this 
occurs even in smaller plants; as soon as the earth 
is stirred, wherever it may be, a sort of vegetation 
comes up. And in partly saturated soil, if you 
break up the ground, they say that caltrop appears. 
Now these ways of origination are due to the change 
which takes place in the soil, whether there were 
seeds in it already, or whether the soil itself some- 
how produces the result. And the latter explanation 
is perhaps not strange, seeing that the moist ele- 
ment is also locked up in the soil.2 Again, in some 
places they say that after rain a more singular 
abundance of vegetation has been known to spring 
up; for instance, at Cyrene, after a heavy pitchy 
shower had fallen: for it was under these circum. 
stances that there sprang up the wood?‘ which is 
near the town, though till then it did not exist 
They say also that silphium’ has been known to 
appear from some such cause, where there was none 
before. 6 Such are the ways in which these kinds 
of generation come about. 


Of the differences between wild and cultivated trees. 


II. All trees are either fruit-bearing or without 
fruit, either evergreen or deciduous, either flowering 
5 cf. 6. 3. 6 πριοῦτοι MSS.; τοσοῦτοι conj. W. 

165 


THEOPHRASTUS 


/ ΄ \ © ΄ 
γάρ τινες διαιρέσεις ἐπὶ πάντων εἰσὶν ὁμοίως 
\ \ 
ἡμέρων τε Kal ἀγρίων. ἴδια δὲ πρὸς τὰ ἥμερα 
τῶν ἀγρίων ὀψικαρπία τε καὶ ἰσχὺς καὶ πολυ- 
,ὔ a lh , Ν , , 
καρπία τῷ προφαίνειν' πεπαίνει TE yap οψὶιαι- 
\ Net > a \ / « > \ \ 
τερον καὶ TO ὅλον ἀνθεῖ καὶ βλαστάνει ὡς ἐπὶ TO 
a / nr 
πᾶν: καὶ ἰσχυρότερα τῇ φύσει: Kal προφαΐίνει 
> 
μὲν πλείω καρπὸν ἐκπέττει δ᾽ ἧττον, εἰ μὴ Kal 
Ἕ > / \ e n Ka > / \ > , 
πάντα ἀλλὰ YE TA ομογενὴ, οἷον ἐλάας καὶ ἀπίου 
/ ¢ \ τ \ 
κότινος Kal ἀχράς. ἅπαντα yap οὕτως, πλὴν 
lal / lal 
εἴ TL σπάνιον, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ TOV κρανείων Kal τῶν 
a \ Id / 
οὔων: ταῦτα yap δή φασι πεπαίτερα Kal ἡδύτερα 
Ni a ς , > \ > ΄ x \ 
τὰ ἄγρια TOV ἡμέρων εἶναι" Kal εἰ δή TL ἄλλο μὴ 
’ a 
προσδέχεται γεωργίαν ἢ δένδρον ἢ καί τι τῶν 
ΕῚ , - \ 7, \ e / \ 
ἐλαττόνων, οἷον TO σίλφιον Kal ἡ κάππαρις καὶ 
a a ς ἢ ἃ \ ΄ 5, τὰν 
τῶν χεδροπῶν ὁ θέρμος, ἃ καὶ μάλιστ᾽ ἄν τις 
> \ ’ 
ἄγρια τὴν φύσιν εἴποι. τὸ γὰρ μὴ προσδεχόμενον 
/ 7 tal ΄ a a 
ἡμέρωσιν, ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς ζώοις, τοῦτο ἄγριον TH 
΄ , 7 ε 
φύσει. καίτοι φησὶν ἽἽππων ἅπαν καὶ ἥμερον 
, ¢ 
Kal ἄγριον εἶναι, καὶ θεραπευόύμενον μὲν ἥμερον 
/ a ’ a 
μὴ θεραπευόμενον δὲ ἄγριον, TH μὲν ὀρθῶς λέγων 
“Ὁ \ > 2 la) ’ / \ “ 
τῇ δὲ οὐκ ὀρθῶς. ἐξαμελούμενον γὰρ ἅπαν 
- / > a / 
χεῖρον γίνεται Kal ἀπαγριοῦται, θεραπευόμενον 
x > Ὁ / “ Μ ἃ \ 
δὲ οὐχ ἅπαν βέλτιον, ὥσπερ εἴρηται. ὃ δὴ 
/ X\ ? 
χωριστέον καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄγρια τὰ δ᾽ ἥμερα λεκτέον, 





1 εἰ uh... ὁμογενῆ conj. W.; εἰ μὴ καὶ πάντα τὰ ἄλλα καὶ 
τὰ ὁμοιογενὴῇ UMVAI.H. 

ἌΡ BUS! ge et Pa pat | Bend Gs a) 

42) 6. the terms ‘cultivated’ and ‘wild’ do not denote 
distinct ‘ kinds.’ 


166 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. πὶ. 1-2 


or flowerless ; for certain distinctions apply to all trees 
alike, whether cultivated or wild. To wild trees, as 
compared with cultivated ones, belong the special 
properties of fruiting late, of greater vigour, of 
abundance of fruit, produced if not matured ; for they 
ripen their fruit later, and in general their time of 
flowering and making growth is later; also they are 
more vigorous in growth, and so, though they produce 
more fruit, they ripen it less ; if! this is not universally 
true, at least it holds good of the wild olive and pear 
as compared with the cultivated forms of these trees. 
This is generally true with few exceptions, as in the 
cornelian cherry and sorb ; for the wild forms of these, 
they say, ripen their fruit better, and it is sweeter 
than in the cultivated forms. ? And the rule also does 
not hold good of anything which does not admit of 
cultivation, whether it be a tree or one of the smaller 
plants, as silphium caper and, among leguminous 
plants, the lupin; these one might say are specially 
wild in their character. For, as with animals which 
do not submit to domestication, so a plant which does 
not submit to cultivation may be called wild in its 
essential character. However Hippon ? declares that 
of every plant there exists both a cultivated and a 
wild form, and that ‘cultivated’ simply means‘ that 
the plant has received attention, while ‘ wild’ means 
that it has not; but though he is partly right, he is 
partly wrong. It is true that any plant deteriorates 
by neglect and so becomes wild; but it is not true 
that every plant may be improved by attention, as 
has been said. Wherefore® we must make our 
distinction and call some things wild, others culti- 


5 i.e. and so become ‘ cultivated.’ 
ὅ ὁ δὴ MSS.; διὸ conj. Sch. from G. 


167 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ὥσπερ τῶν ζώων τὰ συνανθρωπευόμενα Kal τὰ 
δεχόμενα τιθασείαν. 

᾿Αλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν οὐδὲν ἴσως διαφέρει ποτέρως 
ῥητέον. ἅπαν δὲ τὸ ἐξαγριούμενον τοῖς τε 
καρποῖς χεῖρον γίνεται καὶ αὐτὸ βραχύτερον 
καὶ φύλλοις καὶ κλωσὶ καὶ φλοιῷ καὶ τῇ ὅλῃ 
μορφῇ: καὶ γὰρ πυκνότερα καὶ οὐλότερα καὶ 
σκληρότερα καὶ ταῦτα καὶ ὅλη ἡ φύσις γίνεται, 
ὡς ἐν τούτοις “μάλιστα τῆς διαφορᾶς τῶν ἡμέρων 
καὶ τῶν ἀγρίων γινομένης. δι’ ὃ καὶ ὅσα τῶν 
ἡμερουμένων τοιαῦτα τυγχάνει, ταῦτα ἄγριά 
φασιν εἶναι, καθάπερ τὴν πεύκην καὶ τὴν κυπά- 
ρίττον, ἢ ὅλως ἢ τὴν ἄρρενα, καὶ τὴν καρύαν δὲ 
καὶ τὴν διοσβάλανον. 

Ἔτι τε τῷ φιλόψυχρα καὶ ὀρεινὰ μᾶλλον ε εἶναι" 
καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο λαμβάνεται πρὸς τὴν ἀγριότητα 
τῶν δένδρων καὶ ὅλως τῶν φυτῶν, εἴτ᾽ οὖν κα 
αὑτὸ λαμβανόμενον εἴτε κατὰ συμβεβηκός. 

μὲν οὖν τῶν ἀγρίων ἀφορισμὸς εἴθ᾽ οὕτως 
ἢ καὶ ἄλλως ληπτέος, οὐδὲν ἂν ἴσως διενέγκοι 
πρὸς τὰ νῦν" ἐκεῖνο δὲ ἀληθές, ὥς γε τῷ τύπῳ 
καὶ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, ὅτι μᾶλλον ὀρεινὰ τὰ ἄγρια καὶ 
εὐθενεὶ τὰ πλείω καὶ μᾶλλον ἐν τούτοις τοῖς 
τόποις, ἐὰν μή τις λαμβάνῃ τὰ φίχλυδρα καὶ 
παραποτάμια καὶ ἀλχσώδη. ταῦτα γὰρ καὶ τὰ 
τοιαῦτα τυγχάνει πεδεινὰ μᾶλλον. οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾽ 
ἔν ve τοῖς μεγάλοις ὄρεσιν, οἷον ἸΪαρνησῷ τε 
καὶ Κυλλήνῃ καὶ Ὀλύμπῳ τῷ Ππμερικῷ τε καὶ 
τῷ Μυσίῳ καὶ εἴ που τοιοῦτον ἕτερον, ἅπαντα 





1 τιθασείαν conj. W., cf. Plat. Pol. 2640; τιθάσιον ὉΜΑ]ά, 
168 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1. 2-5 


vated—the latter class corresponding to those animals 
which live with man and can be tamed.! 

But perhaps it does not matter which way this 
should be put. Any tree which runs wild deteriorates 
in its fruits, and itself becomes dwarfed in leaves 
branches bark and appearance generally; for under 
cultivation these parts, as well as the whole 
growth of the tree, become closer, more compact? 
and harder; which indicates that the difference 
between cultivated and wild is chiefly shown in these 
respects. And so those trees which show these 
characteristics under cultivation they say are really 
wild, for instance fir cypress, or at least the ‘male’ 
kind, hazel and chestnut. 

Moreover these wild forms are distinguished by 
having greater liking for cold and for hilly country : 
for that too is regarded as a means of recognising 
wild trees and wild plants generally, whether it is so 
regarded in itself or as being only incidentally a 
distinguishing mark. 

So the definition of wild kinds, whether it should 
be thus made or otherwise, perhaps makes no 
difference for our present purpose. Butit is certainly 
true, speaking 8 broadly and generally, that the wild 
trees are more to be found in hilly country, and that 
the greater part of them flourish more in such regions, 
with the exception of those which love water or grow 
by river sides or in woods ; these and such-like trees 
are rather trees of the plain. However on great 
mountains, such as Parnassus Cyllene the Pierian and 
the Mysian Olympus, and such regions anywhere 


2 ovAdrepa conj. W. from G, spissiora; ὀρθότερα MSS. cf. 
Oe Gr 1.88; 
3 ὥς ye conj. Sch.; ὥστε UM; ὡς ἐν Ald.H. 


169 


THEOPHRASTUS 


/ \ \ / fal , yy 
φύεται διὰ τὴν πολυειδίαν τῶν τόπων' ἔχουσι 
γὰρ καὶ λιμνώδεις καὶ ἐνύγρους καὶ ξηροὺς καὶ 
γεώδεις καὶ πετρώδεις καὶ τοὺς ἀνὰ μέσον λει- 
μῶνας καὶ σχεδὸν ὅσαι διαφοραὶ τῆς γῆς" ἔτι δὲ 
τοὺς μὲν κοίλους καὶ εὐδιεινοὺς τοὺς δὲ μετεώρους 
καὶ προσηνέμους: ὥστε δύνασθαι παντοῖα καὶ τὰ 

a / 
ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις φέρειν. 

Οὐδὲν δ᾽ ἄτοπον οὐδ᾽ εἰ ἔνια μὴ οὕτω πάμφορα 

a ’ a > = ἈΝ / Ἂν .“ A / By fal 
TOV ὀρῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ἰδιωτέρας τινὸς ὕλης ἢ πάσης ἢ τῆς 

a / > lal 
πλείστης, οἷον ἐν τῇ Κρήτῃ τὰ ᾿Ιδαῖα" κυπάριττος 
\ ? a \ \ \ K / \ >> / > 
yap ἐκεῖ: καὶ τὰ περὶ Κιλικίαν καὶ Συρίαν, ἐὶ 
“ ol / ΄ 
οἷς κέδρος" ἐνιαχοῦ δὲ τῆς Συρίας τέρμινθος. αἱ 
a \ / A 
yap διαφοραὶ τῆς χώρας THY ἰδιότητα ποιοῦσιν. 
ἀλλ᾽ εἴρηται τὸ ἴδιον ὡς ἐπὶ πᾶν. 

IIT. Ἴδια δὲ τὰ τοιάδε τῶν ὀρεινῶν, ἃ ἐν τοῖς 
πεδίοις οὐ φύεται, [περὶ τὴν Μακεδονίαν] ἐλάτη 
7 / > ’, / / \ ra 
πεύκη πίτυς ἀγρία dirvpa bvyia φηγὸς πύξος 
> / / ” / > \ 
ἀνδράχλη pros apKevOos τέρμινθος ἐρινεὸς 

΄ ᾽ ΄ z / a \ 
φιλύκη ἀφάρκη καρύα διοσβάλανος πρῖνος. τὰ 
δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις μυρίκη πτελέα λεύκη ἐτέα 

Μ , , ΄, a ν 
αἴγειρος κρανεία θηλυκρανεία κλήθρα δρῦς λακά- 
pn ἀχρὰς μηλέα ὀστρύα κήλαστρον μελία πα- 

> / / a 
Aloupos ὀξυάκανθος <adévdapvos,> ἣν ἐν μὲν TO 





1 ἐνςς. Ἰδαῖα conj. W. (after Sch., who conj. τὰ ἐν) ; τὰ 
ἐν κρήτῃ τῇ ᾿Ιδαίᾳ UAId. 

3.1.6. it is not meant that a tree which is ‘special’ to 
Mount Ida (e.g.) occurs only there. 

3 περὶ τὴν Mak.? a gloss; περί τε τὴν Max. MP,Ald.; τε om. P. 


170 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IIT. u. 5-11. 1 


else, all kinds grow, because of the diversity of 
positions afforded them. For such mountains offer 
positions which are marshy, wet, dry, deep-soiled or 
rocky ; they have also their meadow land here and 
there, and in fact almost every variety of soil; again 
they present positions which lie low and are shel- 
tered, as well as others which are lofty and exposed 
to wind; so that they can bear all sorts, even those 
which belong to the plains. 

Yet itis not strange that there should be some 
mountains which do not thus bear all things, but 
have a more special kind of vegetation to a grea’, 
extent if not entirely; for instance the range of Ida 
in Crete!; for there the cypress grows; or the hills 
of Cilicia and Syria, on which the Syrian cedar 
grows, or certain parts of Syria, where the terebinth 
grows. For it is the differences of soil which give 
a special character to the vegetation. 3 (However 
the word ‘special’ is used here in a somewhat 
extended sense. ) 


Of mountain trees: of the differences found tn wild trees. 


III. The following trees are peculiar to mountain 
country and do not grow in the plains; 3 let us 
take Macedonia as an example. Silver-fir fir ‘ wild 
pine’ lime sygia Valonia oak box andrachne yew 
Phoenician cedar terebinth wild fig alaternus hybrid 
arbutus hazel chestnut kermes-oak. The following 
grow also in the plain: tamarisk elm abele willow 
black poplar cornelian cherry cornel alder oak /akare 
(bird-cherry) wild pear apple hop-hornbeam holly 
manna-ash Christ’s thorn cotoneaster maple,* which 


4 σφένδαμνος add. Palm. in view of what follows ; ὀξνάκαρτα 
ἄκανθος UPAld. Bas.; ἄκανθος P,. 


171 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ὄρει πεφυκυῖαν ξυγίαν καλοῦσιν, ἐν δὲ τῷ πεδίῳ 
γλεῖνον. οἱ δ᾽ ἄλλως διαιροῦσι καὶ ἕτερον ποι- 
οὔσιν εἶδος σφενδάμνου καὶ ζυγίας. 

“Aravta δὲ ὅσα κοινὰ τῶν ὀρῶν καὶ τῶν 
πεδίων, μείζω μὲν καὶ καλλίω τῇ ὄψει τὰ ἐν τοῖς 
πεδίοις γίνεται, κρείττω δὲ τῇ χρείᾳ τῇ τε τῶν 
ξύλων καὶ τῇ τῶν καρπῶν τὰ oped: πλὴν 
ἀχράδος καὶ ἀπίου καὶ μηλέας" αὗται δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς 
πεδίοις κρείττους. οὐ μόνον τοῖς καρποῖς ἀλλὰ καὶ 
τοῖς ξύλοις" ἐν γὰρ τοῖς ὄρεσι μικραὶ καὶ ὀξώδεις 
καὶ ἀκανθώδεις γίνονται" πάντα δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς 
ὄρεσιν, ὅταν ἐπιλάβωνται τῶν οἰκείων τόπων, καὶ 
καλλίω φύεται καὶ εὐθενεῖ μᾶλλον: ὡς δὲ ἁπλῶς 
εἰπεῖν τὰ ἐν τοῖς ὁμαλέσι τῶν ὀρῶν καὶ μάλιστα, 
τῶν δὲ ἄλλων τὰ ἐν τοῖς κάτω καὶ κοίλοις" τὰ δ᾽ 
ἐπὶ τῶν ἄκρων χείριστα, πλὴν εἴ τι τῇ φύσει 
φιλόψυχρον' ἔχει δὲ καὶ ταῦτ᾽ αὖ τινα διαφορὰν 
ἐν τοῖς ἀνομοίους τῶν τόπων, ὑπὲρ ὧν ὕστερον 
λεκτέον' νῦν δὲ διαιρετέον ἕ, ἕκαστον κατὰ τὰς δια- 
φορὰς τὰς εἰρημένας. 

Αείφυλλα μὲν οὖν ἐστι τῶν ἀγρίων ἃ καὶ 
πρότερον ἐλέχθη, ἐλάτη πεύκη πίτυς ἀγρία πύξος 
ἀνδράχλη μίλος ἄρκευθος τέρμινθος φιλύκη 
ἀφάρκη δάφνη φελλόδρυς κήλαστρον ὀξυάκανθος 
πρῖνος “μυρίκη: τὰ δὲ ἄλλα πάντα φυλλοβολεῖ: 
πλὴν εἴ τι περιττὸν ἐνιαχοῦ, καθάπερ ἐλέχθη περὶ 
τῆς ἐν τῇ Κρήτῃ πλατάνου καὶ δρυὸς καὶ εἴ που 
τόπος τις ὅλως εὔτροφος. 





1 δ᾽ ἄλλως con}. Sch. from G; 8 ad Ald. ? Plin. 16. 77. 
3 2,6. are not always of the poorest quality. ταῦτ᾽ αὖ τινα 
con}. W.; ταῦτα αὑτῶν Ald.H. 3.1. 9. ὃ. 


172 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. πὶ. 1-3 


when it grows in the mountains, is called sygia, 
when in the plain, gleinos: others, however,} classify 
differently and make maple and zygza distinct trees. 

2 All those trees which are common to both hill 
and plain are taller and finer in appearance when 
they grow in the plain; but the mountain forms are 
better as to producing serviceable timber and fruits, 
with the exception of wild pear pear and apple; 
these are in the plain better in fruit and also in 
timber; for in the hills they grow small with many 
knots and much spinous wood. But even on the 
mountains all trees grow fairer and are more vigorous 
when they have secured a suitable position; and, to 
speak generally, those which grow on the level parts 
of the mountains are specially fair and vigorous ; 
next to these come those which grow on the lower 
parts and in the hollows; while those that grow on 
the heights are of the poorest quality, except any 
that are naturally cold-loving. But even these shew 
some variation? in different positions, of which we 
must speak later; for the present we must in our 
distinctions in each case take account only of the 
differences already mentioned. 

Now among wild trees those are evergreen which 
were mentioned before,‘ silver-fir fir ‘ wild pine’ box 
andrachne yew Phoenician cedar terebinth alaternus 
hybrid arbutus bay phellodrys® (holm-oak) holly 
cotoneaster kermes-oak tamarisk ; but all the others 
shed their leaves, unless it be that in certain places 
they keep them exceptionally, as was said® of the 
plane and oak in Crete and in any other place which 
is altogether favourable to luxuriant growth. 


: | φελλόδρυς conj. Bod., cf. 1. 9. 8; φελλὸς δρῦς UMV(?)Ald. 
6 1:0: 5 


173 


4 


THEOPHRASTUS 


/ \ \ \ ΝΜ 4 \ Be ἈΕῚ, 
Κάρπιμα δὲ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα TavTa: περὶ δὲ ἰτέας 
\ > , A / {4 3 / 
καὶ αἰγείρου καὶ πτελέας, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, διαμφισ- 
fal , \ a 
βητοῦσιν. ἔνιοι δὲ THY αἴγειρον μόνην ἀκαρπεῖν 
“ \ e > ᾽ ,ὔ N \ ” 
φασιν, ὥσπερ καὶ οἱ ἐν ᾿Αρκαδίᾳ, τὰ δὲ ἄλλα 
πάντα τὰ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσι καρποφορεῖν. ἐν Κρήτῃ 
a / / 
δὲ καὶ αἴγειροι κάρπιμοι πλείους εἰσί: μία μὲν ἐν 
a 7, im! .,,} a > av > e \ 
τῷ στομίῳ τοῦ ἄντρου Tov ἐν τῇ "1δῃ, ἐν ᾧ τὰ 
> ΄ 2 ΄ ” δὲ \ / 
ἀναθήματα ἀνάκειται, ἄλλη δὲ μικρὰ πλησίον' 
, 
ἀπωτέρω δὲ μάλιστα δώδεκα σταδίους περί τινα 
΄ὔ - 7 / te 2 dren’, \ \ 
κρήνην Σαύρου καλουμένην πολλαί. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ 
ν τῷ πλησίον ὄρει τῆς “Idns ἐν τῷ Κινδρί 
oe " Ἂν ὠ \ we 4 , : \ Ἶ ἢ Δ 
b] a 5 
καλουμένῳ καὶ περὶ [Π]ραισίαν δὲ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν. 
, la ΄ 3 
οἱ δὲ μόνον τῶν τοιούτων τὴν πτελέαν κάρπιμον 
- , / € \ / 
εἶναί φασι, καθάπερ οἱ περὶ Μακεδονίαν. 
\ \ 
Μεγάλη δὲ διαφορὰ πρὸς καρπὸν καὶ ἀκαρπίαν 
rn ΄ ’ a 
καὶ ἡ τῶν τόπων φύσις, ὥσπερ ἐπί TE τῆς περσέας 
lal / \ 
ἔχει Kal τῶν φοινίκων: ἡ μὲν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καρπο- 
“ \ ” lal , / > ς aN \ 
φορεῖ καὶ εἴ που τῶν πλησίον τόπων, ἐν Ῥόδῳ δὲ 
Ψ “ » “ , > “ ς \ an 
μέχρι TOD ἀνθεῖν μόνον ἀφικνεῖται. ὁ δὲ φοῖνιξ 
a , a 
περὶ μὲν Βαβυλῶνα θαυμαστός, ἐν τῇ ᾿Ελλάδι δὲ 
950" , ν᾽ 9} Nee 9" , 
οὐδὲ πεπαίνει, Tap ἐνίοις δὲ ὅλως οὐδὲ προφαίνει 
΄ 
καρπόν. 
/ \ / fal , 
‘Opotos δὲ καὶ ἕτερα πλείω τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐστίν' ἐπεὶ 
an / ’ὔ \ a 
Kal TOV ἐλαττόνων ποαρίων Kal ὑλημάτων ἐν TH 





2s 2. 10: 

2 cf. 2.2.10. It appears that the buds of the poplar were 
mistaken for fruit (Sch.); ef. Diose. 1. 81. Later writers 
perpetuated the error by calling them κόκκοι. 

3 τοῦ ἐν τῇ Ἴδῃ conj. Sch.; τοῦ ἐν τῷ Ἴδῃ U3 τοῦ ἐν τῷ Ἴδης 
MV ; ἐν τῇ Ἴδῃ Ald.H. 


174 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. πα. 4-6 


Most trees are fruit-bearing, but about willow 
black poplar and elm men hold different opinions, 
as was said!; and some, as the Arcadians, say that only 
the black poplar is without fruit, but that all the 
other mountain trees bear fruit. However in Crete 
there are a number of black poplars which bear fruit ? ; 
there is one at the mouth of the cave on mount Ida,? 
in which the dedicatory offerings are hung, and 
there is another small one not far off, and there are 
quite a number about a spring called the Lizard’s 
Spring about twelve furlongs off. There are also 
some in the hill-country of Ida in the same neigh- 
bourhood, in the district called Kindria and in the 
mountains about Praisia.¢ Others again, as the 
Macedonians, say that the elm is the only tree of this 
class which bears fruit. 

Again the character of the position makes a great 
difference as to fruit-bearing, as in the case of the 
persea® and the date-palm. The persea of Egypt 
bears fruit, and so it does wherever it grows in the 
neighbouring districts, but in Rhodes® it only gets 
as far as flowering. The date-palm in the neighbour- 
hood of Babylon is marvellously fruitful ; in Hellas it 
does not even ripen its fruit, and in some plices it 
does not even produce any. 

The same may be said of various other trees: in 
fact even’ of smaller herbaceous plants and bushes 
some are fruitful, others not, although the latter are 


4 πραισίαν conj. Meurs. Creta; τιρασίαν UMVAId. 

5 of. 4.2.5. περσέαι conj. R. Const.; περσείας U; mepaias 
Ald. 

6 «Ῥόδῳ conj. R. Const. from G, so too Plin. 16. 111; fda 
Ald. cf. 1. 13. 5. for a similar corruption. 

7 ἐπεὶ καὶ conj. Sch. from G ; ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ Ald. 


175 


THEOPHRASTUS 


αὐτῇ χώρᾳ καὶ συνόρῳ χώρᾳ τὰ μὲν κάρπιμα τὰ 

δ᾽ ἄκαρπα γίνεται" καθάπερ καὶ τὸ κενταύριον ἐν 

τῇ λείᾳ, τὸ μὲν ἐν τῇ ὀρεινῇ κάρπιμον, τὸ δ᾽ ἐν 

a ᾽ὔ » > Ν » al Ν 3 3 “ 

τῷ πεδίῳ ἄκαρπον ἀλλὰ μονον ἀνθεῖ, τὸ δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς 

/ , Ὸ»7 ? vad \ a al ν᾿ 

κοίλοις τόποις οὐδ᾽ ἀνθεῖ πλὴν κακῶς. δοκεῖ ὃ 

a »Μ a e a lal 

οὗν Kal τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ὁμογενῶν καὶ ἐν μιᾷ 

προσηγορίᾳ τὸ μὲν ἄκαρπον εἶναι τὸ δὲ κάρπιμον, 

οἷον πρῖνος ὁ μὲν κάρπιμος ὁ δ᾽ ἄκαρπος: καὶ 

κλήθρα δὲ ὡσαύτως" ἀνθεῖ δ᾽ ἄμφω. σχεδὸν δὲ 

al » “ « lal ΕΣ 
ὅσα καλοῦσιν ἄρρενα τῶν ὁμογενῶν ἄκαρπα" καὶ 
Ἧ o \ 
τούτων τὰ μὲν πολλὰ ἀνθεῖν φασι τὰ δ᾽ ὀλίγον 
ε a N 

τὰ δ᾽ ὅλως οὐδ᾽ ἀνθεῖν: τὰ δὲ ἀνάπαλιν, τὰ per 
΄ lal ’ \ ᾽ 

ἄρρενα μόνα καρποφορεῖν, οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾽ ἀπό γε 

a > θῶ ΄, θ \ δέ ὃ θ , \ b \ 

τῶν ἀνθῶν φύεσθαι Ta δενὸρα, καθάπερ καὶ ἀπὸ 
a a tA id N “ 

τῶν καρπῶν ὅσα κάρπιμα: καὶ ἐν ἀμφοῖν οὕτως 

\ Oo \ 
ἐνίοτε πυκνὴν εἶναι τὴν ἔκφυσιν ὥστε τοὺς 
/ “7 
ὀρεοτύπους οὐ δύνασθαι διϊέναι μὴ ὁδοποιη- 
, 
σαμένους. 

᾿Αμφισβητεῖται δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἀνθῶν ἐνίων, 

ς \ ai fa) - 

ὥσπερ εἴπομεν. οἱ μὲν γὰρ καὶ δρῦν ἀνθεῖν 

\ «ς cal / 

οἴονται καὶ τὴν Ἡρακλεῶτιν καρύαν καὶ διοσ- 

7 ” \ ΄ \ ἢ e 5 IO\ 

βάλανον, ἔτι δὲ πεύκην καὶ πίτυν" of δ᾽ οὐδὲν 

, ᾽ \ \ » \ ᾽ - 7, \ 

τούτων, AANA TOV ἰουλον TOV EV ταῖς καρύαις καὶ 

Ν 7.- \ \ 
τὸ βρύον τὸ Spvivoy καὶ τὸν κύτταρον τὸν πιτύ- 





1 χώρᾳ καὶ Ald. ; ἢ καὶ conj. St. 

3.2.6. the ‘males’ are sterile whether they flower or not. 
καὶ τούτων τὰ μὲν πολλὰ I conj.; τούτων τὰ πολλὰ τὰ μὲν Ald. 

8. 22,6. the flowers of the ‘ female’ tree. 

4 23,6. (a) in those trees whose ‘male’ form is sterile, 
whether it bears flowers or not; (b) in those whose ‘ male’ 


176 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. ut. 6-8 


growing in the same place as the former, or! quite 
near it. Take for instance the centaury in Elea; where 
it grows in hill-country, it is fruitful; where it grows 
in the plain, it bears no fruit, but only flowers; and 
where it grows in deep valleys, it does not even 
flower, unless it be scantily. Any way it appears 
that, even of other plants which are of the same 
kind and all go by the same name, one will be 
without fruit, while another bears fruit ; for instance, 
one kermes-oak will be fruitful, another not ; and the 
same is true of the alder, though both produce 
flowers. And, generally speaking, all those of any 
given kind which are called ‘ male’ trees are without 
fruit, and that though? some of these, they say, 
produce many flowers, some few, some none at all. 
On the other hand they say that in some eases it is 
only the ‘males’ that bear fruit, but that, in spite 
of this, the trees grow from the flowers,? (just as in 
the case of fruit-bearing trees they grow from the 
fruit). And they add that in both cases,‘ the crop 
of seedlings ° which comes up is sometimes so thick 
that the woodmen cannot get through except by 
clearing a way. 

There is also a doubt about the flower of some 
trees, as we said. Some think that the oak bears 
flowers, and also the filbert the chestnut and even 
the fir and Aleppo pine; some however think that 
none of these has a flower, but that,—resembling ὅ 
and corresponding to the wild figs which drop off 
prematurely, we have in the nuts the catkin,’ in the 
form alone bears fruit, but the fruit is infertile. The passage 
is obscure: W. gives up the text. 

5 ἔκφυσιν. cf. 7. 4. 3. 


ὁ ὅμοιον conj.W.; ὁμοίαν UAld. ef. 3. 7. 3. 
ὉΠ 9. δ᾽ ὃ. 


THEOPHRASTUS 


” “ ““ 
ἵνον ὅμοιον καὶ ἀνάλογον εἶναι τοῖς προαπο- 
πτώτοις ἐρινοῖς. οἱ δὲ περὶ Μακεδονίαν οὐδὲ 
a ΄ ᾽ a ” ’ Fé aw / 
ταῦτά φασιν ἀνθεῖν ἄρκευθον ὀξύην apiav σφέν- 
/ / 
δαμνον. ἔνιοι δὲ τὰς ἀρκεύθους δύο εἶναι, καὶ τὴν 
/ lal ’ ᾽ 3 
μὲν ἑτέραν ἀνθεῖν μὲν ἄκαρπον δ᾽ εἶναι, τὴν δὲ 
ον > 3 a \ \ \ / ᾽ \ 
ἑτέραν οὐκ ἀνθεῖν μὲν καρπὸν δὲ φέρειν εὐθὺς 
“ SY at a \ ΄ 
προφαινόμενον, ὥσπερ καὶ τὰς συκᾶς τὰ ἐρινά. 
, ᾽ 3 “ wks ΄ ” \ \ 
συμβαίνει δ᾽ οὖν ὥστε ἐπὶ δύο ἔτη TOY καρπὸν 
/ ral n / a > 
ἔχειν μόνον τοῦτο τῶν δένδρων. ταῦτα μὲν οὗν 
ἐπισκεπτέον. 
/ n / 
IV. Ἡ δὲ βλάστησις τῶν μὲν ἅμα γίνεται Kai 
lal / a \ Ν a 
TOV ἡμέρων, TOV δὲ μικρὸν ἐπιλειπομένη, τῶν δ᾽ 
\ \ \ ¢ 
ἤδη πλέον, ἁπάντων δὲ KATA τὴν ἠρινὴν ὥραν. 
᾽ Ν n an c % 7 “ 
ἀλλὰ τῶν καρπῶν ἢ παραλλαγὴ πλείων" ὥσπερ 
΄ > \ \ 
δὲ Kal πρότερον εἴπομεν, OV κατὰ τὰς βλαστήσεις 
Ὁ / ᾽ \ \ 4 ’ \ \ 
αἱ πεπάνσεις ἀλλὰ πολὺ διαφέρουσιν: ἐπεὶ Kal 
lal >? / a / / 
τῶν ὀψικαρποτέρων, ἃ δή τινές φασιν ἐνιαυτο- 
- ” \ a “ ε 
φορεῖν, οἷον ἄρκευθον καὶ πρῖνον, ὅμως αἱ βλασ- 
δ τῷ \ J na Ν ¢ a a 
τήσεις τοῦ ἦρος. αὐτὰ δ᾽ αὑτῶν τὰ ὁμογενῆ τῷ 
¢ \ U 
πρότερον καὶ ὕστερον διαφέρει κατὰ τοὺς τόπους" 
a \ x al 
πρῶτα μὲν yap βλαστάνει τὰ ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσιν, ὡς 
ς \ , / ΄ \ NS) “ 
οἱ περὶ Μακεδονίαν λέγουσι, δεύτερα δὲ τὰ ἐν τοῖς 
, \ \ va 4 
πεδίοις, ἔσχατα δὲ τὰ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν. 
a a / ᾿ 
Αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν καθ᾽ ἕκαστα δένδρων τὰ μὲν 


1 7.e. the male flower, cf. Schol. on Ar. Vesp. 1111. 
Θεόφραστος κυρίως λέγει κύτταρον THY προάνθησιν τῆς πίτυος: 
but no explanation of such a use of the word suggests itself. 
chav aa 4 87, 

2 ἀρίαν conj. Sch., of. 3. 4. 2; 3.16.3; 3.17.1; ὀξύνην ἀγρίαν 
Ald. 


178 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. m1. 8-1v. 2 


oak the oak-moss, in the pine the ‘flowering tuft.’ 1 
The people of Macedonia say that these trees also 
produce no flowers—Phoenician cedar beech aria? 
(holm-oak) maple. Others distinguish two kinds of 
Phoenician cedar, of which one bears flowers but 
bears no fruit, while the other, though it has no 
flower, bears a fruit which shows itself at once 3— 
just as wild figs produce their abortive fruit. How- 
ever that may be,‘ it is a fact that this is the only 
tree which keeps its fruit for two years. These 
matters then need enquiry. 


Of the times of budding and fruiting of wild, as compared 
with cultivated, trees. 

IV. Now the budding of wild trees occurs in some 
cases at the same time as that of the cultivated forms, 
but in some cases somewhat, and in some a good 
deal later; but in all cases it is during the spring 
season. But there is greater diversity in the time of 
fruiting ; as we said before, the times of ripening do 
not correspond to those of budding, but there are 
wide differences. For even in the case of those 
trees which are somewhat late in fruiting,—which 
some say take a year to ripen their fruit—such as 
Phoenician cedar and kermes-oak, the budding 
nevertheless takes place in the spring. Again there 
are differences of time between individual trees of 
the same kind, according to the locality; those in 
the marshes bud earliest, as the Macedonians say, 
second to them those in the plains, and latest those 
in the mountains. 

Again of particular trees some wild ones bud 


3 2.6. without antecedent flower. 
4 δ᾽ οὖν conj. W.; σχεδὸν UMVAId. 


179 


THEOPHRASTUS 


/ a e / ’ , 
συναναβλαστάνει τοῖς ἡμέροις, οἷον ἀνδράχλη 
’ / > X \ ζω δ a > ΄ \ 
ἀφάρκη: aypas δὲ μικρῷ ὕστερον τῆς ἀπίου. Ta 

Ν \ x , Ν \ \ ᾽ \ ’΄ 
δὲ καὶ πρὸ ζεφύρου καὶ μετὰ πνοὰς εὐθὺ ζεφύρου. 

\ \ 4 \ / \ ’ 
καὶ πρὸ ζεφύρου μὲν κρανεία καὶ θηλυκρανεία, 
μετὰ ζέφυρον δὲ δάφνη κλήθρα, πρὸ ἰσημερίας δὲ 

\ / ’; Ν fol of. 
μικρὸν φίλυρα ζυγία φηγὸς συκῆ: πρωΐβλαστα 
\ \ 4 \ n \ > VA 4 \ a 
δὲ καὶ καρύα Kal δρῦς καὶ ἀκτέος" ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον 
Ν Μ “ \ > rs / , 
Ta ἄκαρπα δοκοῦντα Kal ἀλσώδη, λεύκη πτελέα 
᾽ / ” / \ “ ’ , 
ἰτέα αἴγειρος: πλάτανος δὲ μικρῷ ὀψιαίτερον 
τούτων. τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ὥσπερ ἐνισταμένου τοῦ 
ἦρος, οἷον ἐρινεὸς φιλύκη ὀξυάκανθος παλίουρος 
τέρμινθος καρύα διοσβάλανος: μηλέα δ᾽ ὀψί- 
βλαστος" ὀψιβλαστότατον δὲ σχεδὸν ios ἀρία 
, = , e \ 5 / 
TeTpaywvia θύεια piros. αἱ μὲν οὖν βλαστήσεις 
οὕτως ἔχουσιν. 

Αἱ δὲ ἀνθήσεις ἀκολουθοῦσι μὲν ὡς εἰπεῖν κατὰ 
λόγον, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ παραλλάττουσι, μᾶλλον δὲ 
καὶ ἐπὶ πλέον ἡ τῶν καρπῶν τελείωσις. κρανεία 

\ Pia 
μὲν yap ἀποδίδωσι περὶ τροπὰς θερινὰς ἡ πρώϊος 
\ “ “Ὁ ς a] wv ry / 
σχεδὸν ὥσπερ πρῶτον: ἡ δ᾽ ὄψιος, ἣν δή τινες 
καλοῦσι θηλυκρανείαν, μετ᾽ αὐτὸ τὸ μετόπωρον' 

" ἈΠΕ ͵΄ \ v . \ , 

ἔστι δὲ ὁ ταύτης καρπὸς ἄβρωτος καὶ TO ξύλον 
» \ \ a δ \ \ 
ἀσθενὲς καὶ χαῦνον: tocavtn δὴ διαφορὰ περὶ 
ἄμφω. τέρμινθος δὲ περὶ πυροῦ ἀμητὸν ἢ μικρῷ 


1 See below, ἢ. 4. 

2 τὰ ak. Sox. kal ἀλσ. conj. W.; τὰ ἀκ. καὶ δοκ. καὶ aro. U 
ΜΡ; τὰ ἀκ. τὰ Bun. ado. Ald. 

3 ὥσπερ apologises for the unusual sense given to ἐνιστ. 


180 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. τιν. 2-4 


along with the cultivated forms, as andrachne and 
hybrid arbutus ; and the wild pear is a little later 
than the cultivated. Some again bud both before 
zephyr begins to blow, and immediately after it has 
been blowing. Before it come cornelian cherry and 
cornel, after it bay and alder; a little before the 
spring equinox come lime zygia Valonia oak fig. 
Hazel! oak and elder are also early in budding, and 
still more those trees which seem to have no fruit 
and to grow in groves,? abele elm willow black 
poplar ; and the plane is a little later than these. 
The others which bud when the spring is, as it were, 
becoming established,? are such as wild fig alaternus 
cotoneaster Christ’s thorn terebinth hazel 4 chestnut. 
The apple is late in budding, latest of all generally 
are wpsos® (cork-oak) aria (holm-oak)  tetragonia 
odorous cedar yew. Such are the times of budding. 

The flowering times in general follow in proportion ; 
but they present some irregularity, and so in still 
more cases and to a greater extent do the times at 
which the fruit is matured. The cornelian cherry pro- 
duces its fruit about the summer solstice ; the early 
kind, that is to say, and this tree is about the earliest 
of all.6 The late form, which some call ‘female 
cornelian cherry’ (cornel), fruits quite at the end of 
autumn. ‘The fruit of this kind is inedible and its 
wood is weak and spongy ; that is what the difference 
between the two kinds amounts to. The terebinth 
produces its fruit about the time of wheat-harvest or 
(usually ‘ beginning’). τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλα ὥσπερ ἐνιστ. conj. W.; τὰ 
δ᾽ ἄλλως wep’ U; τὰ δὲ ἄλλως περιενισταμένου MAId. Η, 

4 καρύα can hardly be right both here and above. 

5 See Index. 


ὁ σχεδὸν ὥσπερ πρῶτον not in G, nor in Plin. (16. 105) ; text 
perhaps defective, 


181 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ὀψιαίτερον ἀποδίδωσι Kal μελία καὶ σφένδαμνος 
τοῦ θέρους τὸν καρπόν' κλήθρα δὲ καὶ καρύα καὶ 
ἀχράδων τι γένος μετοπώρου" δρῦς δὲ καὶ διοσ- 
βάλανος ὀψιαίτερον ἔτι περὶ Πλειάδος δύσιν, 
ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ φιλύκη καὶ πρῖνος καὶ παλίουρος 
καὶ ὀξυάκανθος μετὰ Πλείαδος δύσιν' ἡ δ᾽ ἀρία 
χειμῶνος ἀρχομένου" καὶ ἡ μηλέα μὲν τοῖς πρώτοις 
ψύχεσιν, ἀχρὰς δὲ ὀψία χειμῶνος" ἀνδράγλη δὲ 
καὶ ἀφάρκη τὸ μὲν πρῶτον πεπαίνουσιν ἅμα τῷ 
βότρυϊ περκάζοντι, τὸ δὲ ὕστερον, δοκεῖ γὰρ ταῦτα 
δίκαρπα, ἀρχομένου τοῦ “χειμῶνος, ἐλάτη δὲ καὶ 
δ μίλος ἀνθοῦσι μικρὸν πρὸ ἡλίου τροπῶν' [καὶ τῆς 
γε ἐλάτης τὸ ἄνθος κρόκινον. καὶ ἄλλως καλόν"] 
τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ἀφιᾶσι μετὰ δύσιν ΤΙ λειάδος. 
πεύκη δὲ καὶ πίτυς προτεροῦσι τῇ βλαστήσει 
μικρόν, ὅσον πεντεκαίδεκα ἡμέραις, τοὺς δὲ καρ- 
ποὺς ἀποδιδόασι μετὰ Πλειάδα κατὰ λόγον. 
Tadta μὲν οὖν μετριωτέραν μὲν ἔχει παραλλα- 
yn: πάντων δὲ πλείστην ἡ ἄρκευθος καὶ ἡ κήλασ- 
τρος καὶ ἡ πρῖνος" ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἄρκευθος ἐνιαύσιον 
ἔχειν δοκεῖ" περικαταλαμβάνει γὰρ ὁ νέος τὸν περυ- 
σινόν. ὡς δέ τινές φασιν, οὐδὲ πεπαίνει, δι᾽ ὃ καὶ 
προαφαιροῦσι καὶ χρόνον τινὰ τηροῦσιν" ἐὰν δὲ ἐ ἐᾷ 
6 ἐπὶ τοῦ δένδρου TUS; ἀποξηραίνεται. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὴν 
mpivov οἱ περὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν ἐνιαυτῷ πελειοῦν' ἅμα 
γὰρ τὸν ἔνον πεπαίνει καὶ τὸν νέον ὑποφαίνει" 
ὥστε τοῖς τοιούτοις συμβαίνει συνεχῶς τὸν καρπὸν 
ἔχειν. φασὶ δέ γε καὶ τὴν κήλαστρον ὑπὸ τοῦ 





1 ἀποδ. καὶ μελία U ; ἀποδίδωσι: μελία Ald. Some confusion 
in text, but sense clear. 


2 ὀψία: 1 ἡ ὀψία W. 
182 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. tv. 4-6 


a little later, manna-ash! and maple in summer; alder 
hazel and a certain kind of wild pear in autumn; 
oak and chestnut later still, about the setting of the 
Pleiad ; and in like manner alaternus kermes-oak 
Christ’s-thorn cotoneaster after the setting of the 
Pleiad; aria (holm-oak) when winter is beginning, 
apple with the first cold weather, wild pear late? in 
winter. Andrachne and hybrid arbutus first ripen 
their fruit when the grape is turning, and again 3 
when winter is beginning ; for these trees appear to 
bear twice. As for‘ silver-fir and yew, they flower 
a little before the solstice ; °(the flower of the silver- 
fir is yellow and otherwise pretty) ; they bear their 
fruit after the setting of the Pleiad. Fir and Aleppo 
pine are a little earlier in budding, about fifteen 
days, but produce their fruit after the setting of the 
Pleiad, though proportionately earlier than silver-fir 
and yew. 

In these trees then the difference of time is not 
considerable ; the greatest difference is shewn in 
Phoenician cedar holly and kermes-oak; for Phoe- 
nician cedar appears to keep its fruit for a year, the 
new fruit overtaking that of last year; and, accord- 
ing to some, it does not ripen it at all; wherefore 
men gather it unripe and keep it, whereas if it is left 
on the tree, it shrivels up. The Arcadians say that 
the kermes-oak also takes a year to perfect its fruit ; 
for it ripens last year’s fruit at the same time that 
the new fruit appears on it; the result of which is that 
such trees always have fruit on them. They say also 


3 After ὕστερον Ald. adds ἀνθοῦντι (so also H and G); Plin. 
13. 121. omits it ; om. ὟΝ. after Sch. 

4 γὰρ Ald.; δὲ conj. W. 

5 Probably an early gloss, W. ef. Plin. 16. 106. 


183 


THEOPHRASTUS 


a / ‘ 
χειμῶνος ἀποβάλλειν. ὀψίκαρπα δὲ σφόδρα καὶ 
/ \ wf Ν \ Ἂν; » 
φίλυρα καὶ πύξος. [τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ἄβρωτον 
, / 
ἔχει παντὶ Com φίλυρα θηλυκρανεία πύδξος. 
’ 4 ἣν \ ἊΝ 7 ” \ 
ὀψίκαρπα δὲ καὶ κιττὸν Kal ἄρκευθος καὶ 
/ A , / id Ν « ἘΠΡΝἥἤ{ / 
πεύκη Kal ἀνδράχλη.] ὡς δὲ οἱ περὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν 
᾿] , 
φασίν, ἔτει τούτων ὀψικαρπότερα σχεδὸν 
» ’ὔ 
δὲ πάντων ὀψιαίτερα τετραγωνία θύεια μί- 
A a 4 
λος. αἱ μὲν οὖν τῶν καρπῶν ἀποβολαὶ καὶ 
πεπάνσεις τῶν ἀγρίων τοιαύτας ἔχουσι διαφορὰς 
> / Ν x “ > Ni \ \ € 4 
οὐ μόνον πρὸς Ta ἥμερα ἀλλὰ καὶ προς εαυτα. 
/ 
V. Συμβαίνει 8 ὅταν ἄρξωνται βλαστάνειν 
\ A ” A , , \ \ 
Ta μὲν ἄλλα συνεχῆ τήν τε βλάστησιν καὶ τὴν 
” a / \ \ > / \ 
αὔξησιν ποιεῖσθαι, πεύκην δὲ καὶ ἐλάτην Kal 
lal /, al «ς an 
δρῦν διαλείπειν, καὶ τρεῖς ὁρμὰς εἶναι καὶ τρεῖς 
? Id / x A ἈΝ / n \ 
ἀφιέναι βλαστούς, dt’ ὃ καὶ τρίσλοποι' πᾶν γὰρ 
\ / « / na nr \ 
δὴ δένδρον ὅταν βλαστάνῃ λοπᾷ' πρῶτον μὲν 
ἄκρου ἔαρος εὐθὺς ἱσταμένου τοῦ Θαργηλιῶνος, 
> \ nw \ fe / ς 
ἐν δὲ τῇ Ἴδῃ περὶ πεντεκαίδεκα μάλιστα ἡμέρας" 
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα διαλιπόντα περὶ τριάκοντα ἢ 
μικρῷ πλείους ἐπιβάλλεται πάλιν ἄλλους βλασ- 
τοὺς ἀπ᾿ ἄκρας τῆς κορυνήσεως τῆς ἐπὶ τῷ προ- 
tow βλαστῷ: καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄνω τὰ δ᾽ εἰς τὰ 
τέρῳ ¢ μ ἰς τὰ 
o / a \ 4 i 
πλάγια κύκλῳ ποιεῖται τὴν βλάστησιν, οἷον γονυ 


1 φίλυρα Ald.; φιλυρέα conj. Sch. 

2 σὸν 5&.... ἀνδράχλη. Apparently a gloss, W. 

8 τετραγωνία conj. Sch. (τετρα- omitted after -repa): cf. § 2; 
γωνία MV ; γωνίεια U. 

4 τῶν ἀγρίων after πεπάνσεις con}. Sch.; after ἥμερα Ald. 

δ Phin, 16.100. 


184 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1v. 6—-v. 1 


that holly loses its fruit owing to the winter. [Lime! 
and box are very late in fruiting, (lime has a fruit 
which no animal can eat, and so have cornel and 
box. Ivy Phoenician cedar fir and andrachne are 
late fruiting?) though, according to the Arcadians, 
still later than these and almost latest of all are 
tetragonia® odorous cedar and yew. Such then 
are the differences as to the time of shedding and 
ripening their fruit between wild* as compared 
with cultivated trees, and likewise as compared with 
one another. 
Of the seasons of budding. 


V. 5Now most trees, when they have once begun 
to bud, make their budding and their growth con- 
tinuously, but with fir silver-fir and oak there are 
intervals. They make three fresh starts in growth 
and produce three separate sets of buds; wherefore 
also they lose their bark thrice®a year. For every 
tree loses its bark when it is budding. This first 
happens in mid-spring’” at the very beginning of the 
month Thargelion,? on Mount Ida within about 
fifteen days of that time; later, after an interval of 
about thirty days or rather more, the tree? puts on 
fresh buds which start from the head of the knobby 
growth!? which formed at the first budding-time; and 
it makes its budding partly on the top of this,!! partly 
all round it laterally,!? using the knob formed at the 


8 πρίσλοποι conj. Sch.; τρίσλοιποι UM2V; τρίσλεποι Μ᾿ Ald. 
CfA. 15.3500. 1.1. 

7 Zapos conj. R. Const.; ἀέρος VAld. αἵ. Plin. l.c. 

8 About May. 

® What follows evidently applies only to the oak. 

a sseuengees conj. Sch.; κορύνης ἕως UMV; κορυφῆς ews 
Ald. 

τ ΟἿΣ 12 +4 add. Sch, 


185 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ποιησάμενα THY TOD πρώτου βλαστοῦ κορύνην, 
ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ πρώτη βλάστησις ἔχει. γίνεται δὲ 
τοῦτο περὶ TOV Σκιρροφοριῶνα λήγοντα. 

Κατὰ δὲ ταύτην τὴν βλάστησιν καὶ ἡ κηκὶς 
φύεται πᾶσα, καὶ ἡ λευκὴ καὶ ἡ μέλαινα" φύεται 
δὲ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ νυκτὸς ἀθρόος: ἐφ᾽ ἡμέραν δὲ 
μίαν αὐξηθεῖσα, πλὴν τὴς πιττοειδοῦς, ἐὰν ὑπὸ 
τοῦ καύματος ληφθῇ ξηραίνεται, καὶ ἀναυξὴς ἐ ἐπὶ 
τὸ μεῖζον, ἐγίνετο γὰρ ἂν μείξων τῷ μεγέθει. 
διόπερ τινὲς αὐτῶν οὐ μεῖξον ἔχουσι κυάμου τὸ 
μέγεθος. ἡ δὲ μέλαινα καὶ ἐπὶ πλείους ἡμέρας 
ἔγχλωρός ἐστι, καὶ αὐξάνονται καὶ λαμβάνουσιν 
ἔνιαι μέγεθος μήλου. 

Διαλείποντα δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο περὶ πεντεκαίδεκα 
ἡμέρας πάλιν τὸ τρίτον ἐπιβάλλεται βλαστοὺς 
Ἑκατομβαιῶνος, ἐλαχίστας ἡμέρας τῶν πρότε- 
pov: ἴσως γὰρ ἐξ ἢ ἑπτὰ τὸ πλεῖστον' ἡ δὲ 
βλάστησις ὁμοία καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν τρύπον. παρελ- 
θουσῶν δὲ τούτων οὐκέτι εἰς μῆκος ἀλλ᾽ εἰς 
πάχος ἡ αὔξησις τρέπεται. 

Πᾶσι μὲν οὖν τοῖς δένδροις αἱ ᾿βλαστήσεις 
φανεραί, μάλιστα δὲ τῇ ἐλάτῃ καὶ τῇ πεύκῃ διὰ 
τὸ στοιχεῖν τὰ γόνατα καὶ ἐξ ἴσου τοὺς ὄζους 
ἔχειν. ὥρα δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὸ τέμνεσθαι τὰ ξύλα 
τότε διὰ τὸ λοπᾶν: ἐν γὰρ τοῖς ἄλλοις καιροῖς 
οὐκ εὐπεριαίρετος ὁ φλοιός, ἀλλὰ καὶ περιαιρε- 
θέντος μέλαν τὸ ξύλον γίνεται καὶ τῇ ὄψει χεῖρον" 
ἐπεὶ καὶ πρός γε τὴν χρείαν οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ καὶ 





1 About June. 
5 ο[. 3. 72s 5. 5. Oslin, 16.27. 
3 ἔγχλωρος con]. Coraés ; etxAwpos Ald. 
4 διαλείποντα conj. St.; διαλείπουσαι Ald. H. 


186 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. v. 1-3 


first budding as a sort of joint, just as in the case of 
the first budding. This happens about the end of 
the month Skirrophorion.! 

2(It is only at the time of this second budding that 
the galls also are produced, both the white and the 
black; the liquid forming them is mostly produced in 
quantity at night, and, after swelling for one day 
—except the part which is of resinous character—it 
hardens if it is caught by the heat, and so cannot grow 
any more; otherwise it would have grown greater in 
bulk; wherefore in some trees the formation is not 
larger than a bean. The black gall is for several 
days of a pale green colour; then it swells and some- 
times attains the size of an apple.) 

Then, after an interval‘ of about fifteen days, the 
tree for the third time puts on buds in the month 
Hekatombaion ὅ ; but this growth continues for fewer 
days than on either of the previous occasions, perhaps 
for six or seven at most. However the formation of 
the buds is as before and takes place in the same 
manner. After this period there is no increase in 
length, but the only increase is in thickness. 

The periods of budding can be seen in all trees, 
but especially in fir and silver-fir, because the joints 
of these are in a regular series and have the knots 
at even distances. It is then the season also for 
cutting the timber, because the bark is being shed ° ; 
for at other times the bark is not easy to strip off, 
and moreover, if it is stripped off, the wood turns 
black 7 and is inferior in appearance; for as to its 
utility 8 this makes no difference, though the wood 

5 About July. 
6. χοπᾶν conj. Sch.; Aoway UMV; Array Ald. 
Wef. Blin. 16.74: 
8 ye conj. Sch.; τε Ald, 
187 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ \ “ a 
ἰσχυρότερον, ἐὰν μετὰ τὴν πέπανσιν τῶν καρπῶν 
τμηθῇ. 

rn \ lod ’, 
Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἴδια τῶν προειρημένων δένδρων. 
αἱ δὲ βλαστήσεις αἱ ἐπὶ Kuvi καὶ ᾿Αρκτούρῳ γινό- 
Ν 7 \ \ \ ρ \ Pe Y 
> 
μεναι μετὰ τὴν ἐαρινὴν σχεδὸν κοιναὶ πάντων' 
Μ \ “ > -“ ¢ te A ’ 
ἔνδηλοι δὲ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς ἡμέροις καὶ τούτων 
΄ a Ἄν / ἐν." A ἈΞ ΟΡ “ 
μάλιστα συκῇ καὶ ἀμπέλῳ καὶ ροιᾷ καὶ ὅλως ὅσα 
a ¢ ἂς Ἁ 
εὐτραφῆ καὶ ὅπου χώρα τοιαύτη" δι’ ὃ καὶ τὴν 
’ Jad / ’ \ / \ 
ἐπ᾽ ᾿Αρκτούρῳ πλείστην φασὶ γίνεσθαι περὶ Θετ- 
, \ / “ \ ͵ \ 
ταλίαν καὶ Μακεδονίαν: ἅμα yap συμβαίνει καὶ 
td 
TO μετόπωρον καλὸν γίνεσθαι καὶ μακρόν, ὥστε 
\ \ / / a ἔς 
καὶ τὴν μαλακότητα συμβάλλεσθαι τοῦ ἀέρος. 
’ \ \ 5, 3 / \ a7 id > “ ΟΝ 
ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ διὰ τοῦθ᾽ ὡς εἰπεῖν αἰεὶ 
\ 4 A \ ie , 
βλαστάνει τὰ δένδρα, ἢ καὶ μικρόν τινα διαλείπει 
’ 
χρόνον. 
᾿Αλλὰ τὰ μὲν περὶ τὰς ἐπιβλαστήσεις, ὥσπερ 
” 4 Ἂ, \ ᾿ \ i 4 > ἣν fal 
εἴρηται, κοινά, Ta δὲ περὶ Tas διαλείψεις ἀπὸ τῆς 
, " a / » ᾽ SF 
πρώτης ἴδια τῶν λεχθέντων. ἴδιον δ᾽ ἐνίοις 
a / / 
ὑπάρχει καὶ TO τῆς καλουμένης κάχρυος, οἷον 
“ / \ 
τοῖς [τε] προειρημένοις" ἔχει yap Kat ἐλάτη Kal 
“ , 
πεύκη καὶ δρῦς, καὶ ἔτι φίλυρα καὶ καρύα καὶ 
΄ / A, 
διοσβάλανος καὶ πίτυς. αὗται δὲ γίνονται δρυὶ 
μὲν πρὸ τῆς βλαστήσεως ὑποφαινούσης τῆς 
» a “ » > . \ / \ 
ἠρινῆς ὥρας. ἔστι δ᾽ ὡσπερεὶ κύησις φυλλικὴ 
μεταξὺ πίπτουσα τῆς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐποιδήσεως καὶ 
τῆς φυλλικῆς βλαστήσεως: τῇ δ᾽ ὄῃ ἐστὶ τοῦ 


1 δένδρων conj. R. Const.; καρπῶν Ald. H. 
2 of, 0,2. 1.10 fit a6 1S. ae ee see 15 0 Edin, 
16. 98. 8 Cf, Ὁ...1..14. 1}. * ef, b.1. 4; Plin. 16. 30. 


188 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. v. 3-5 


is stronger if it is cut after the ripening of the 
fruit. 

Now what has been said is peculiar to the above- 
mentioned trees.! ? But the buddings which take 
place at the rising of the dog-star and at that of 
Arcturus after the spring budding are common to 
nearly all, though they may be most clearly seen in 
cultivated trees, and, among these, especially in fig 
vine pomegranate, and in general in all those that 
are luxuriant in growth or are growing in rich soil. 
Accordingly they say that the budding at the rising 
of Arcturus is most considerable in Thessaly and 
Macedonia? ; for it also happens that the autumn in 
these countries is a fair and a long season; so that 
the mildness of the climate alsocontributes. Indeed 
it is for this reason, one may say, that in Egypt too 
the trees are always budding, or at least that the 
process is only suspended for quite a short time. 

Now the facts as to the later buddings apply, as 
has been said, to all trees alike; but those which 
belong to the intervals after the first period of 
budding are peculiar to those mentioned above. 
Peculiar to some also is the growth of what are 
called ‘winter buds,’* for instance in the above- 
mentioned trees ; silver-fir fir and oak have them, and 
also lime hazel chestnut and Aleppo pine. These 
are found in the oak before the leaf-buds grow, when 
the spring season is just beginning. This growth 
consists of a sort of leaf-like formation,® which occurs 
between the first swelling of the leaf-buds and the 
time when they burst into leaf. In the sorb® it 

5 ἐστι. . - φυλλικὴ : ἐστι conj. R. Const.; ὡσπερεὶ conj. Sch.; 


ἔτι δὲ ὥσπερ ἣ κύησις φυλακὴ UAId.H.; φυλλικὴ mBas. ete. 
5 τῇ δ᾽ bn ἐστὶ conj. W. (cf. the description of ὄη, 8. 12. 8): 


τῇ δ᾽ ἰδιότητι Ald. 
τὃς 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Ν \ / 
μετοπώρου μετὰ THY φυλλοβολίαν εὐθὺς λιπαρά 
τις καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπωδηκυῖα, καθαπερανεὶ μέλλουσα 
βλαστάνειν, καὶ διαμένει τὸν χειμῶνα μέχρι τοῦ 
“ «ς sats MM \ Ἂ » \ ta) 
Hpos. ἡ δὲ Ἡρακλεωτικὴ μετὰ τὴν ἀποβολὴν τοῦ 
καρποῦ φύει τὸ βοτρυῶδες ἡλίκον σκώληξ εὐμε- 
/ 2 e. N / / / pay Lal ‘ 
γέθης, ἐξ ἑνὸς μίσχου πλείω δή, ἃ καλοῦσί τινες 
ἰούλους. τούτων ἕκαστον ἐκ μικρῶν σύγκειται 
μορίων φολιδωτῶν τῇ τάξει, καθάπερ οἱ στρόβιλοι 
a \ ᾿ 
τῆς πεύκης, ὥστε μὴ ἀνομοίαν εἶναι τὴν ὄψιν 
\ lal \ 
στροβίλῳ νέῳ καὶ YAWPO πλὴν προμηκέστερον 
, / “- 
καὶ σχεδὸν ἰσόπαχες διόλου. τοῦτο δὲ αὔξεται 
τὸν χειμῶνα: (καὶ ἅμα τῷ ἦρι χάσκει τὰ φολι- 
δωτὰ καὶ ξανθὰ γίνεται), καὶ τὸ μῆκος λαμβάνει 
¢ \ “ 5 
καὶ τριδάκτυλον: ὅταν δὲ τοῦ pos TO φύλλον 
la) / a 
βλαστάνῃ, ταῦτ᾽ ἀποπίπτει καὶ τὰ τοῦ καρύου 
΄ ’, 
καλυκώδη περικάρπια γίνεται συμμεμυκότα κατὰ 
fa! a μέ 
τοῦ μίσχου, τοσαῦτα ὅσα καὶ ἣν τὰ ἄνθη: τούτων 
᾽ > e / / Ψ \ Ν n tA 
δ᾽ ἐν ἑκάστῳ κάρυον ἕν. περὶ δὲ τῆς φιλύρας 
” 
ἐπισκεπτέον, καὶ El TL ἄλλο καχρυοφύόρον. 
MI a a 
VI. "Ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὰ μὲν εὐαυξῆ τὰ δὲ δυσαυξῆ. 
fel , 4 ΄, 
εὐαυξῆ μὲν τά τε πάρυδρα, οἷον πτελέα πλάτανος 
ys / 
λεύκη αἴγειρος (Téa καί τοι περὶ ταύτης ἀμφισ- 
βητοῦσί τινες ὡς δυσαυξοῦς" καὶ τῶν καρποφόρων 
ἥν ,ὔ / a > / \ / 
δὲ ἐλάτη πεύκη δρῦς. εὐαυξέστατον δὲ... μίλος 





1 εὐθὺς λιπαρὰ Conj. Sch.; τις add. W.; εὐθὺς αἱ παρὰ τῆε U. 

2 φύει conj. W.; φύεται Ald. *@encatkings. ‘efsds 308: 

4 πλείω δὴ conj. Sch.; main UMVAI.; πλείονα U ?. 

© Clad.) {0 55} ἃ 

δ συμμεμυκότα κατὰ τοῦ μι: G evidently had a different 
text; ? συμπεφυκότα W. 


190 


ENQUIRY” INTOPPEANTS; LE vsi5-vi.) 1 


occurs in the autumn after the shedding of the 
leaves, and has from the first a glistening look,! as 
though swelling had taken place, just as if it were 
about to burst into leaves; and it persists through 
the winter till the spring. The filbert after casting 
its fruit produces? its clustering growth,? which is 
as large as a good-sized grub: several * of these grow 
from one stalk, and some call them catkins. Each 
of these is made up of small processes arranged 
like scales, and resembles the cone of the fir, so that 
its appearance is not unlike that of a young green 
fir-cone, except that it is longer and almost of the 
same thickness throughout. ‘This grows through the 
winter (when spring comes, the scale-like processes 
open and turn yellow) ; it grows to the length of three 
fingers, but, when in spring the leaves are shooting, 
it falls off, and the cup-like® fruit-cases of the nut 
are formed, closed all down® the stalk and corre- 
sponding? in number to the flowers; and in each ot 
these is a single nut. The case of the lime and 
of any other tree that produces winter-buds needs 
further consideration. 


Of the comparative rate of growth in trees, and of the length of 
their roots. 


VI. Some trees are quick-growing, some slow. 
Quick-growing are those which grow by the waterside, 
as elm plane abele black poplar willow; (however 
some dispute about the last-named, and consider it 
a slow grower :) and of fruit-bearing trees, silver-fir 
fir oak. Quickest growing of all are. . .8 yew lakara 


Ἴ ὅσα καὶ ἦν τὰ ἄνθη Conj. W.; ὅσα καὶ κατὰ ἄνθη Ald. 
8 Lacuna in text (Sch.W.). The following list of trees also 
appears to be in confusion, and includes some of both classes. 


IQ) 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ , \ » / ’ 
καὶ λάκαρα φηγὸς ἄρκευθος σφένδαμνος ὀστρυα 
, , ΄ / ? / , 
Cuyia μελία κλήθρα πίτυς avdpadyAn κρανεία 
/ > , Lal 9: > \ ’ ye 4 
πύξος ἀχράς. καρποφορεῖ δ᾽ εὐθὺς ἐλάτη πεύκη 
/ na 
πίτυς, κἂν ὁπηλικονοῦν μέγεθος λάβωσιν. 
Ἡ δὲ αὔξησις καὶ ἡ βλάστησις τῶν μὲν ἄλλων 
\ ΄ a a a 
ἄτακτος κατὰ τοὺς τόπους τῶν βλαστῶν, τῆς δ᾽ 
, \ 
ἐλάτης ὡρισμένη καὶ συνεχὴς Kal ὕστερον. ὅταν 
lal / \ “ a 
yap ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους τὰ πρῶτα σχισθῇ, πάλιν ἐξ 
« / / 
ἐκείνου ἡ ἑτέρα σχίσις γίνεται κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν 
a ? a 
τρόπον, Kal TOUT ἀεὶ ποιεῖ κατὰ πάσας τὰς ἐπι- 
βλαστήσεις. ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις οὐδ᾽ οἱ ὄζοι κατ᾽ 
\ , / , 
ἀλλήλους πλὴν ἐπί τινων ὀλίγων, οἷον κοτίνου 
\ a 
καὶ ἄλλων" ἔχει δὲ καὶ τῆδε διαφορὰν ἡ αὔξησις 
“ ς ’, / , 
κοινῇ πάντων ὁμοίως ἡμέρων TE καὶ ἀγρίων" τὰ 
μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἄκρου τῶν βλαστῶν καὶ ἐκ 
a , ΄ “ 
τῶν πλαγίων φύεται, καθώπερ ἄπιος ῥύόα συκῆ 
x \ a lal 
μύρρινος σχεδὸν τὰ πλεῖστα" τὰ δ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ ἄκρου 
μὲν οὐκ ἀνίησιν ἐκ δὲ τῶν πλαγίων, καὶ αὐτὸ 
al , “ 
προωθεῖται τὸ ὑπάρχον, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ ὅλον στέ- 
, lal 
λεχος καὶ οἱ ἀκρεμόνες. συμβαίνει δὲ τοῦτο ἐπὶ 
a A v4 a «ς “ 
τῆς Περσικῆς καρύας καὶ τῆς Ηρακλεωτικῆς καὶ 
ἄλλων. ἁπάντων δὲ τῶν τοιούτων εἰς ἕν φύλλον 
3 a ε , >a Nase ’ 
ἀποτελευτῶσιν οἱ βλαστοί, du’ ὃ Kal εὐλόγως οὐκ 
Ν Ἁ 
ἐπιβλαστάνει καὶ αὐξάνεται μὴ ἔχοντα ἀρχήν. 
, \ » Ν a 
(ὁμοία δὲ τρόπον τινὰ ἡ αὔξησις καὶ τοῦ σίτου" 





1 kata... βλαστῶν conj. W.; κατὰ τοὺς τρόπους (corrected 
to τόπους) καὶ βλαστούς U; MVP insert τοὺς before βλαστούς. 

2 ἐκείνου .. . κατὰ conj. W.; ἐκείνου ἡ ἑτέρα σχίζεται τὰ ἴσο 
καὶ UAId. 


3 ἄλλων : ἐλάας W.; I suggest ἄλλων ἐλαῶν. 
192 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vi. 1-3 


(bird-cherry) Valonia oak Phoenician cedar maple 
hop-hornbeam zygza manna-ash alder Aleppo pine 
andrachne cornelian cherry box wild pear. But 
silver-fir fir and Aleppo pine bear fruit from the very 
first, whatever size they have attained. 

While the growth and budding of most trees are 
irregular as regards the position in which the buds 
appear,! the growth and budding of the silver-fir 
follow a regular rule, and its development afterwards 
is also in a regular sequence. For, when the trunk 
first divides, then again from the divided trunk the 
second division? takes place in like manner, and so the 
tree goes on with each fresh formation of buds. In 
other trees not even the knots are opposite to one 
another, except in some few cases, as wild olive and 
others. Here too we find a difference in the 
manner of growth which belongs to all trees alike, 
both cultivated and wild: in some cases the growth 
is from the top of the shoots and also from the side- 
buds,* as in pear pomegranate fig myrtle and the 
majority of trees, one may say: in some cases the 
growth is not from the top, but only from the side- 
buds, and the already existing part is pushed out ὃ 
further, as is the whole trunk with the upper 
branches. This occurs in the walnut and in the filbert 
as wellas in other trees. In all such trees the buds end 
in a single leaf®; wherefore it is reasonable that 
they should not make fresh buds and growth from this 
point, as they have no point of departure. (To a 
certain extent the growth of corn is similar; for it 

4 ἐκ τοῦ... πλαγίων : 2? ἐκ τοῦ ἄκρον καὶ ἐκ τῶν πλαγίων 
βλαστῶν. cf. 8. 5. 1. 

5.2.6. grows without dividing. cf. Plin. 16. 100. (of dif- 


ferent trees). 
® φύλλον perhaps conceals some other word. 


193 


THEOPHRASTUS 


καὶ yap οὗτος ἀεὶ τῇ προώσει τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος 
αὐξάνεται, κἂν κολοβωθῇ τὰ “φύλλα, καθάπερ ἐν 
τοῖς ἐπιβοσκομένοις: πλὴν οὗτός γε οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ 
πλαγίου παραφύει, καθάπερ ἔνια τῶν χεδροπῶν.) 
αὕτη μὲν οὖν διαφορά τις ἂν εἴη βλαστήσεως 
ἅμα καὶ αὐξήσεως. 

Βαθύρριξα δὲ οὔ φασί τινες εἶναι τὰ ἄγρια διὰ 
τὸ φύεσθαι πάντα ἀπὸ σπέρματος, οὐκ ἄγαν 
ὀρθῶς λέγοντες. ἐνδέχεται γὰρ ὅταν ἐμβιώσῃ 
πόρρω καθιέναι τὰς pitas: ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν λαχάνων 
τὰ πολλὰ τοῦτο ποιεῖ, καίπερ “ἀσθενέστερα ὄ ὄντα 
καὶ ἐναργῶς φυόμενα «ἐν; τῇ γῇ: βαθυρριξότατον 
δ᾽ οὖν δοκεῖ τῶν “ἀγρίων εἶναι ἡ ἡ πρῖνος" ἐλάτη δὲ 
καὶ πεύκη μετρίως, ἐπιπολαιότατον δὲ θραύπα- 
λος καὶ κοκκυμηλέξα καὶ σποδιάς: αὕτη δ᾽ ἐστὶν 
ὥσπερ ἀγρία κοκκυμηλέα. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν καὶ 
ὀλιγόρριξα' ὁ δὲ θραύπαλος πολύρριξζον. συμ- 
βαίνει δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς μὴ κατὰ βάθους ἔ ἔχουσι, 
καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα ἐλάτῃ καὶ πεύκῃ, προρρίζοις ὑπὸ 
τῶν πνευμάτων ἐκπίπτειν. 

Ot μὲν οὖν περὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν οὕτω λέγουσιν». οἱ 
δ᾽ ἐκ τῆς Ἴδης βαθυρριζότερον ἐλάτην δρυὸς ἀλλ᾽ 
ἐλάττους ἔχειν καὶ εὐθυρριζοτέραν εἶναι: βαθυρρι- 
ζότατον δὲ καὶ τὴν κοκκυμηλέαν καὶ τὴν ~Hpa- 
κλεωτικήν, τὰς δὲ ῥίξας λεπτὰς καὶ ἰσχυρὰς τὴν 
Ἡρακλεωτικήν, τὴν δὲ κοκκυμηλέαν πολύρριζον, 
ἄμφω δ᾽ ἐμβιῶναι δεῖν: δυσώλεθρον δὲ τὴν 
κοκκυμηλέαν. ἐπιπολῆς δὲ σφένδαμνον καὶ 





1 τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος conj. Sch. from α ; τῇ ὑπαρχούσῃ Ald. 
2 οὐδ᾽ : Ῥ οὐκ W. 3 Plin. 16. 127. 
4 ἐμβιώσῃ: Chih. Ba) ΡΝ Beak 


194 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vi. 3-5 


also regularly increases by pushing forward of the 
already existing part,! evenif the leaves are mutilated, 
as in corn which is bitten down by animals. Corn 
however does not? make side-growths, as some 
leguminous plants do.) Here then we may find a 
difference which occurs both in the making of buds 
and in the making of fresh growth. 

3Some say that wild trees are not deep rooting, 
because they all grow from seed; but this is not a 
very accurate statement. For it is possible that, 
when they are well established,4 they may send 
their roots down far; in fact even most pot-herbs 
do this, though these are not so strong as trees, and 
are undoubtedly grown from seed planted in the 
ground.®> The kermes-oak however seems to be the 
deepest rooting of wild trees; silver-fir and fir are 
only moderately so, and shallowest are joint-fir pluin 
bullace (which is a sort of wild plum). The last 
two also have few roots, while joint-fir has many. 
Trees which do not root deep,® and especially silver- 
fir and fir, are liable to be rooted up by winds. 

So the Arcadians say. But the people who live 
near Mount Ida say that the silver fir is deeper 
rooting’ than the oak, and has straighter roots, 
though they are fewer. Also that those which have 
the deepest roots are plum and filbert, the latter 
having strong slender roots, the former having 
many : but they add that both trees must be well 
established to acquire these characters; also that 
plum is very tenacious of life. Maple, they say, 

5 ἐναργῶς... γῇ: soG; évadd. W. 

ὁ βάθους Conj. Sch.; βάθος Ald. 

7 βαθορριζότερον con}. W.; βαθυρριζότατον UMVAId. 


8 Proverbial for its hold on the ground ; cf. Verg. Aen. 4. 
441 foll. 


195 


THEOPHRASTUS 


’ , \ \ / ’ \ 7 U 
ὀλίγας" τὴν δὲ μελίαν πλείους καὶ εἶναι πυκνόρ- 
ρίζον καὶ βαθύρριζον. ἐπιπολῆς δὲ καὶ ἄρκευθον 
\ μ \ / \ \ e val 
καὶ κέδρον: καὶ κλήθρας λεπτὰς Kal ὁμαλεῖς: 
Μ ἌΝ , x Coe ieee | / \ 
ἔτι δ᾽ ὀξύην: καὶ yap τοῦτ᾽ ἐπιπολαιόρριζον καὶ 
b) / \ \ ” 2 , \ ? 
ὀλιγόρριζον. τὴν δὲ οὔαν ἐπιπολαίους μὲν ἰσχυ- 
us δὲ καὶ ( Lo £0 ήθει δὲ 
ρὰς δὲ καὶ παχείας καὶ δυσωλέθρους πλήθει δὲ 
’ / \ 9 \ > / 
μετρίας. βαθύρριξα μὲν οὖν καὶ οὐ βαθύρριξα 
rn? / 
τὰ τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐστίν. 
VII. ᾿Αποκοπέντος δὲ τοῦ στελέχους τὰ μὲν 
ἄλλα πάνθ᾽ ὡς εἰπεῖν παραβλαστάνει, πλὴν ἐὰν 
/ al 
ai ῥίζαι πρότερον τύχωσι πεπονηκυΐαι' πεύκη 
δὲ καὶ ἐλάτη τελέως ἐκ ῥιζῶν αὐτοετεῖς αὐαίνονται 
Ν \ \ ” ? a / Vee / 
Kal ἐὰν TO ἄκρον ἐπικοπῆ. συμβαίνει δὲ ἴδιόν 
τι περὶ τὴν ἐλάτην" ὅταν γὰρ κοπῇ ἢ κολουσθῇ 
δ x / x \ ” \ \ \ a 
ὑπὸ πνεύματος ἢ καὶ ἄλλου τινὸς περὶ TO λεῖον 
τοῦ στελέχους---ἔχει γὰρ μέχρι τινὸς λεῖον καὶ 
ἄοζον καὶ ὁμαλὸν ἱκανὸν ἵστῳ πλοίου --- περι- 
φύεται μικρόν, ὑποδεέστερον εἰς ὕψος, καὶ κα- 
“ ς \ ” € \ ? / an \ 
λοῦσιν of μὲν ἄμφαυξιν οἱ δὲ ἀμφίφυαν, τῷ μὲν 
Ἁ / aA \ , ¢ ΄ 
χρώματι μέλαν τῇ δὲ σκληρότητι ὑπερβάλλον, 
ἐξ οὗ τοὺς κρατῆρας ποιοῦσιν οἱ περὶ ApKadiay: 
τὸ δὲ πάχος οἷον ἂν τύχῃ τὸ δένδρον, ὅσῳπερ 
, / 
ἂν ἰσχυρότερον καὶ ἐγχυλότερον ἢ παχύτερον. 
συμβαίνει δὲ κἀκεῖνο ἴδιον ἐν ταὐτῷ τούτῳ περὶ 





σφ. καὶ ὀλίγας conj. W.; σφ. κατ᾽ ὀλίγον ΌὌΜΨΥ Ald. 
i.e. not very fibrous. 
cf. Hdt. 6. 37, and the proverb πίτυος τρόπον ἐκτρίβεσθαι. 
ὅμαλον conj. Scal.; ὅμοιον Ald. 

5 ἱκανὸν ἵστῳ πλοίον conj. W.; ἢ καὶ ἡλίκον πλεῖον Ald.; sc 
UH, but with πλοῖον. 


196 


~ oO wd 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 111. νι. ς νι. 2 


has shallow roots and few of them!; but manna-ash 
has more and they are thickly matted and run 
deep; Phoenician cedar and priekly cedar, they say, 
have shallow roots, those of alder are slender and 
‘plain,’ 2 as also are those of beech; for this too has 
few roots, and they are near the surface. Sorb, they 
say, has its roots near the surface, but they are 
strong and thick and hard to kill, though not very 
numerous. Such are the trees which are or are 
not deep-rooting. 


Of the effects of cutting down the whole or part of a tree. 


VII. Almost all trees shoot from the side if the 
trunk is cut down, unless the roots have previously 
been injured; but fir and silver-fir wither away 3 
completely from the roots within the year, if merely 
the top has been cut off. And there is a peculiar 
thing about the silver-fir; when it is topped or 
broken off short by wind or some other cause 
affecting the smooth part of the trunk—for up toa 
certain height the trunk is smooth knotless and 
plain ὁ (and so suitable for making a ship’s mast °),— 
a certain amount of new growth forms round it, 
which does not however grow much vertically ; and 
this is called by some amphauxis® and by others 
amphiphya® ; it is black in colour and exceedingly 
hard, and the Arcadians make their mixing-bowls 
out of it; the thickness is in proportion‘ to the tree, 
according as that is more or less vigorous and sappy, 
or again according to its thickness. There® is this 
peculiarity too in the silver-fir in the same connexion ; 

6 Two words meaning ‘ growth about,’ 1.6. callus. 


7 οἷον ἂν conj. W.; οἷον ἐὰν Ald.; ὅσον ἂν conj. Scal. 
ΒΡ) 167 123; 


197 


THEOPHRASTUS 


A / .“ \ / ‘ yy v 
τὴν ἐλάτην" ὅταν μὲν yap τις τοὺς ὄζους ἅπαντας 
᾽ \ > / \ »Μ > / / 
ἀφελὼν ἀποκόψῃ TO ἄκρον, ἀποθνήσκει ταχέως" 
cd \ \ / \ \ \ “ ᾽ 7 
ὅταν δὲ τὰ κατωτέρω τὰ κατὰ τὸ λεῖον ἀφέλῃ, 
al \ / \ aA \ \ ς ” 
ζῇ τὸ κατάλοιπον, περὶ ὃ δὴ Kal ἡ ἄμφαυξις 
/ fol \ Qn ev lol ” - \ 
φύεται. ζῇ δὲ δῆλον OTL τῷ ἔγχυλον εἶναι Kal 
’ 7 » / =) \ \ lal 
χλωρόν, εἴπερ ἀπαράβλαστον. ἀλλὰ yap τοῦτο 
n / 
μὲν ἴδιον τῆς ἐλάτης. 
\ » / \ 
Φέρει δὲ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα TOV TE καρπὸν τὸν 
a \ b) > x , lal 
ἑαυτῶν καὶ τὰ KAT ἐνιαυτὸν ἐπιγινόμενα ταῦτα, 
/ \ \ \ ei 
φύλλον ἄνθος βλαστόν' τὰ δὲ καὶ βρύον ἢ ἕλικα" 
\ \ , / Ὁ / , , 
Ta δὲ πλείω, καθάπερ ἥ TE TTEAEA TOV τε βότρυν 
καὶ τὸ θυλακῶδες τοῦτο, καὶ συκῆ καὶ τὰ ἐρινὰ 
/ \ a “ 
τὰ προαποπίπτοντα καὶ εἴ τινες ἄρα τῶν συκῶν 
’ a 7 δὲ ΄ \ \ 
ὀλυνθοφοροῦσιν: ἴσως δὲ τρόπον τινὰ καρπὸς 
᾽ « \ a 
οὗτος. ἀλλ᾽ ἡ Ἡρακλεωτικὴ Kapva Tov ἴουλον 
\ ς na ‘ a / e \ / 
Kal ἡ πρῖνος Tov φοινικοῦν κόκκον ἡ δὲ δάφνη 
Ν / , x ANP ζς / > \ 
τὸ βότρυον. φέρει μὲν καὶ ἡ καρποφόρος, εἰ μὴ 
Ν “ > 4 / > an > 5 > \ 
καὶ πᾶσα ἀλλὰ TOL γένος TL αὑτῆς, OV μὴν ἀλλὰ 
/ CS ἃ ὃ} \ ” 7 “ 
πλέον ἡ ἄκαρπος, ἣν δὴ καὶ ἄρρενά τινες καλοῦ- 
᾽ 4 \ , 
σιν. GAN ἡ πεύκη τὸν προαποπίπτοντα KUT- 
ταρον. 
-“ \ / -“ , 
Πλεῖστα δὲ πάντων ἡ δρῦς παρὰ τὸν καρπόν, 
, \ \ 
οἷον τήν τε κηκίδα τὴν μικρὰν Kal THY ἑτέραν 





1 2,6. and so does not, like other trees under like treat- 
ment, put its strength into these. cf. C.P. 5.17. 4. 

2 ἑαυτῶν conj. Sch. from G; αὐτὸν Ald. 

3 The leaf-gall, cf. 2. 8. 3; ὃ. 14. 1. For τοῦτο cf. 3. 18. 11; 
Ae 7:1. 4 Tali. rOnst. πῆς abs δ. 1. 8: 

5 τινὰ καρπὸς conj. Sch.; τινὰ ἄκαρπος UAId. 


198 








ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vir. 2-4 


when, after taking off all the branches, one cuts off 
the top, it soon dies; yet, when one takes off the 
lower parts, those about the smooth portion of the 
trunk, what is left survives, and it is on this part 
that the amphauzis forms. And plainly the reason 
why the tree survives is that it is sappy and green 
because it has no side-growths.!_ Now this is peculiar 
to the silver-fir. 


Of other things borne by trees besides their leaves flowers and 
Sruit. 

Now, while other trees bear merely their own ” 
fruit and the obvious parts which form annually, to 
wit, leaf flower and bud, some bear also catkins or 
tendrils, and some produce other things as well, for 
instance the elm its ‘cluster’ and the familiar bag- 
like thing,® the fig both the immature figs which drop 
off and (in some kinds) the untimely figs +—though 
perhaps in a sense® these should be reckoned as 
fruit. Again filbert produces its catkin,® kermes-oak 
its scarlet ‘berry,’? and bay its ‘cluster..® The 
fruit-bearing sort of bay also produces this, or at all 
events? one kind certainly does so; however the 
sterile kind, which some call the ‘male,’ produces 
it in greater quantity. The fir again bears its ‘tuft,’ 1° 
which drops off. 

11 The oak however bears more things besides 12 its 
fruit than any other tree; as the small gall 18 and its 


δ 01:3: 5: 8: 9: δ: 5: 

7 α[. 3.16.1. 1.6. the kermes gall (whence Eng. ‘crimson’). 

8 βότρυον UMVAlId., supported by G. and Plin. 16. 120; 
but some editors read βρύον on the strength of 3. 11. 4. and 


GPs 2s Al 4. 9 ἀλλά τοι con]. W.3; ἀλλὰ καὶ Ald. 
5:5: ΒΝ 1k ts 16.28: t 
12 παρὰ conj. W., cf. §6; φέρει Ald. ἸΣ ΟΠ: 9. 5. Ὁ: 


199 


THEOPHRASTUS 


τὴν πιττώδη μέλαιναν. ἔτι δὲ συκαμινῶδες ἄλλο 
τῇ “μορφῇ πλὴν σκληρὸν καὶ δυσκάτακτον, 
σπάνιον δὲ τοῦτο: καὶ ἕτερον αἰδοιώδη σχέσιν 
ἔχον, τέλειούμενον δ᾽ ἔτι σκληρὸν κατὰ τὴν 
ἐπανάστασιν καὶ τετρυπημένον' προσεμφερὲς 
τρόπον τινὰ τοῦτ᾽ ἐστὶ καὶ ταύρου κεφαλῇ, περι- 
καταγνύμενον δὲ ἔνδοθεν “ἔχει πυρῆνος ἐλάας 
ἰσοφυές. φύει δὲ καὶ τὸν ὑπ᾽ ἐνίων καλούμενον 

πῖλον' τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶ σφαιρίον ἐριῶδες μαλακὸν 
περὶ πυρήνιον σκληρότερον πεφυκός, ᾧ χρῶνται 
πρὸς τοὺς λύχνους" καίεται γὰρ καλῶς, ὥσπερ 
καὶ ἡ μέλαινα κηκίς. φύει δὲ καὶ ἕτερον σφαιρίον 
κόμην ἔχον, τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἀχρεῖον, κατὰ δὲ τὴν 
ἐαρινὴν ὥραν ἐπίβαπτον χυλῷ μελιτηρῷ καὶ κατὰ 
τὴν ἁφὴν καὶ κατὰ τὴν γεῦσιν. 


“Ὁ e 


Ila ραφύει δ᾽ ἐνδοτέρω τῆς τῶν ῥαβδῶν μασχα- 
λίδος ἕτερον σφαιρίον ἄμισχον ἢ καὶ κοιλόμισχον 
ἴδιον καὶ ποικίλον" τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἐπανεστηκότας 
ὀμφαλοὺς ἐπιλεύκους ἢ ἐπεστιγμένους ἔ EXEL μέλα- 
vas τὸ δ᾽ ἀνὰ μέσον κοκκοβαφὲς καὶ λαμπρόν' 
ἀνοιγόμενον δ᾽ ἐστὶ μέλαν καὶ ἐπίσαπρον. σπάνιον 
δὲ παραφύει καὶ δλιθάριον κισσηροειδὲς ἐπὶ 
πλεῖον. ἔτι δ᾽ ἄλλο τούτου σπανιαίτερον φυλλι- 
κὸν συμπεπιλημένον πρόμηκες σφαιρίον. ἐπὶ δὲ 
τοῦ φύλλου φύει κατὰ τὴν ῥάχιν σφαιρίον λευκὸν 
διαυγὲς ὑδατῶδες, ὅταν ἁπαλὸν ἢ" τοῦτο δὲ καὶ 





} πυρῆνος ἐλάας ἰσοφυὲς icon). W.; πυρῆνος ἐλαίᾳ εἰρουφυὴν 
UMV ; : πυρῆνα ἐλαία εἰρουφύην Ald. 

2 rep! πυρήνιον σκληρότερον I conj. ; περὶ πυρηνίου σκληρότητα 
U; περὶ πυρηνίου σκληρότερον Μ ; περιπυρηνίου σκληρότερον 
VAld. Υ. prints the reading of U. For πῖλος see Index. 


200 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vit. 4-5 


other black resinous gall. Again it has another 
growth, like a mulberry in shape, but hard and 
dificult to break; this however is not common. It 
has also another growth like the penis in shape, 
which, when it is further developed, makes a hard 
prominence and has a hole through it. This to a 
certain extent resembles also a bull’s head, but, when 
split open, it contains inside a thing shaped like the 
stone of an olive.!. The oak also produces what some 
call the ‘ball’; this is a soft woolly spherical object 
enclosing a small stone which is harder,*? and men 
use it for their lamps; for it burns well, as does the 
black gall. The oak also produces another hairy 
ball, which is generally useless, but in the spring 
season it is covered with a juice which is like honey 
both to touch and taste. 

3 Further the oak produces right inside the axil4 
of the branches another ball with no stalk or else ὅ 
a hollow one; this is peculiar and of various colours : 
for the knobs which arise on it are whitish or black 
and spotted,® while the part between these is brilliant 
scarlet; but, when it is opened, it is black and 
rotten.’ It also occasionally produces a small stone 
which more or less resembles pumice-stone ; also, less 
commonly, there is a leaf-like ball, which is oblong 
and of close texture. Further the oak produces on the 
rib of the leaf a white transparent ball, which is 
watery, when it is young; and this sometimes con- 


5 Plin: 10.929: 

4 ἐνδοτέρω. .. μασχαλίδος conj. R. Const. ; ἐντεριώνης τῶν 
ῥοπῶν μασχαλίδας UAld. Plin., l.c., gignunt et alae ramorum 
eius pilulas. 5 ἢ ins. St. 

6 Plin., l.c., nigra varietate dispersa. 

7 ἐπίσαπρον ; Plin., l.c., has apertis amara inanitas est 
whence ἐπίπικρον conj. Sch. 


201 


THEOPHRASTUS 


/ > eed > δὸ v / δὲ 
μύας ἐνίοτε ἐνδὸν ἰσχει. τελειούμενον OE σκλὴ 
/ a ’ , 
ρύνεται κηκίδος μικρᾶς λείας τρόπον. 
la) lal Ἁ 
‘H μὲν οὖν δρῦς τοσαῦτα φέρει παρὰ τὸν 
καρπόν. οἱ γὰρ μύκητες ἀπὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν καὶ 
παρὰ τὰς ῥίζας φυόμενοι κοινοὶ καὶ ἑτέρων εἰσίν. 
e / \ \ e ees \ \ “ / 
ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ἡ ἰξία: Kal yap αὕτη φύεται 
> 
καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις: ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲν ἧττον, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, 
πλειστοφύρον ἐστίν" εἰ δέ γε δὴ καθ᾽ ᾿Ησίοδον 
ad / 
φέρει μέλι Kal μελίττας, ἔτι μᾶλλον: φαίνεται δ᾽ 
4 \ ς / a \ ᾽ a ae 2 
οὖν καὶ ὁ μελιτώδης οὗτος χυλὸς ἐκ TOD ἀέρος 
“ον / / / \ \ \ oa 
ἐπὶ ταύτῃ μάλιστα προσίζειν. φασὶ δὲ καὶ ὅταν 
κατακαυθῇ γίνεσθαι λίτρον ἐξ αὐτῆς. ταῦτα 
“ / 
μὲν οὖν ἴδια τῆς δρυός. 
VIL. Πάντων δέ, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, τῶν δένδρων 
ὡς καθ᾽ ἕκαστον γένος λαβεῖν διαφοραὶ πλείους 
Μὰ e \ ‘ a τ a Ἂν; a \ 
εἰσίν: ἡ μὲν κοινὴ πᾶσιν, 7 διαιροῦσι TO θῆλυ Kal 
΄ 
τὸ ἄρρεν, ὧν τὸ μὲν καρποφύρον τὸ δὲ ἄκαρπον 
> , ε Ν vy , Ν A 
ἐπί τινων. ἐν ols δὲ ἄμφω καρποφόρα τὸ θῆλυ 
, 
καλλικαρπότερον καὶ πολυκαρπότερον: πλὴν 
ὅσοι ταῦτα καλοῦσιν ἄρρενα, καλοῦσι γάρ τινες. 
/ > e , \ \ « \ 
παραπλησία δ᾽ ἡ τοιαύτη διαφορὰ καὶ ὡς τὸ 
ἥμερον διήρηται πρὸς τὸ ἄγριον. ἑτέρα δὲ κατ᾽ 
a n e fal 
εἶδος αὐτῶν τῶν ὁμογενῶν: ὑπὲρ ὧν λεκτέον ἅμα 
’ ’ lal 
συνεμφαίνοντας καὶ τὰς ἰδίας μορφὰς τῶν μὴ 
φανερῶν καὶ γνωρίμων. 





 Plin<16; 91]: 2 Hes. Op. 233. 
* Plin, 16. 16, 4 λεκτέον add. Sch. 


202 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, ITI. vir. 5-vist. 1 


tains flies: but as it develops, it becomes hard, like a 
small smooth gall. 

Such are the growths which the oak produces as 
well as its fruit. For as for the fungi! which grow 
from the roots or beside them, these occur also 
in other trees. So too with the oak-mistletoe ; 
for this grows on other trees also. However, apart 
from that, the oak, as was said, produces more things 
than any other tree; and all the more so if, as 
Hesiod? says, it produces honey and even bees; 
however, the truth appears to be that this honey-like 
juice comes from the air and settles on this more 
than on other trees. They say also that, when the 
oak is burnt, nitre is produced from it. Such are 
the things peculiar to the oak. 


Of ‘male’ and ‘female’ in trees: the oak as an example of 
this and other differences. 

VIII. 3 Taking, as was said, all trees according to 
their kinds, we find a number of differences. Com- 
mon to them all is that by which men distinguish 
the ‘male’ and the ‘female,’ the latter being fruit- 
bearing, the former barren in some kinds. In those 
kinds in which both forms are fruit-bearing the 
‘female’ has fairer and more abundant fruit; how- 
ever some call these the ‘male’ trees—for there 
are those who actually thus invert the names. 
This difference is of the same character as that 
which distinguishes the cultivated from the wild tree, 
while other differences distinguish different forms of 
the same kind; and these we must discuss,* at the 
same time indicating the peculiar forms, where these 
are not® obvious and easy to recognise. 


5 μὴ conj. St.; μήτε Ald. H. 
203 


2 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ \ , \ a 
Apvos δὴ γένη---ταύτην yap μάλιστα διαιροῦσι" 
\ / ¢ a 
καὶ ἔνιοί γε εὐθὺς τὴν μὲν ἥμερον καλοῦσι τὴν δ᾽ 
7 lal a an nr 
ἀγρίαν οὐ τῇ γλυκύτητι τοῦ καρποῦ διαιροῦντες" 
/ e a “ 
ἐπεὶ γλυκύτατός γε ὁ τῆς φηγοῦ, ταύτην δ᾽ 
> / ἴω > X A n > al > 
ayplay ποιοῦσιν: ἀλλὰ τῷ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς ἐργα- 
/ / \ Ν ΄ ΝΜ / 
σίμοις φύεσθαι καὶ τὸ ξύλον ἔχειν λειότερον, 
\ \ x a - 
τὴν δὲ φηγὸν τραχὺ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὀρεινοῖς --- γένη 
μὲν οὖν οἱ μὲν τέτταρα ποιοῦσιν οἱ δὲ πέντε. 
΄ ᾽ a ’ 
διαλλάττουσι δ᾽ ἔνια τοῖς ὀνόμασιν, οἷον τὴν τὰς 
/ / e \ ¢ / na ΄ 
γλυκείας φέρουσαν οἱ μὲν ἡμερίδα καλοῦντες οἱ 
9 33 , ς , \ N > JS eae ie ¢ ’ 
δ᾽ ἐτυμόδρυν. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐπ᾿ ἄλλων. ὡς ὃ 
2 € \ \ Ὑ “ 7)? 9 \ \ ” 
οὗν οἱ περὶ τὴν Ἴδην διαιροῦσι, τάδ᾽ ἐστὶ τὰ εἴδη" 
ἡμερὶς αἰγίλωψ πλατύφυλλος φηγὸς ἁλίφλοιος: 
e \ » / “ / \ / 
οἱ δὲ εὐθύφλοιον καλοῦσιν. κάρπιμα μὲν TavTaA: 
a a a » 
γλυκύτατα δὲ Ta THs φηγοῦ, καθάπερ εἴρηται, 
\ aA a 
καὶ δεύτερον TA τῆς ἡμερίδος, ἔπειτα τῆς πλατυ- 
7 
φύλλου, καὶ τέταρτον ἡ ἁλίφλοιος, ἔσχατον δὲ 
\ L ς ΣΥΝ > - \ 
καὶ πικρότατον ἡ αἰγίλωψ. οὐχ ἅπασαι δὲ 
a > a / > ’ ’ / Ν / 
γλυκεῖαι EV τοῖς γένεσιν ἀλλ EVIOTE καὶ πικραί, 
/ «ς / / \ \ r 
καθάπερ ἡ φηγός. διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ τοῖς 
fal \ lal 
μεγέθεσι καὶ τοῖς σχήμασι Kal τοῖς χρώμασι 
a v ae! “ ἊΝ \ 
τῶν βαλανων. ἴδιον δὲ ἔχουσιν ἥ τε φηγὸς Kal 
\ 
ἡ ἁλίφλοιος: ἀμφότεραι yap παραλιθάζουσιν ἐν 
τοῖς ἄρρεσι καλουμένοις ἐξ ἄκρων τῶν βαλάνων 
« / € \ \ A / δ \ \ 
ἑκατέρωθεν, αἱ μὲν πρὸς τῷ κελύφει αἱ δὲ πρὸς 





1 Plin. 16. 16 and 17. 
2 See Index, δρῦς and ἡμερίς. ἡμερίς, lit. ‘cultivated oak.’ 
* Phin. 16:20; 


204 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vu. 2-3 


1Take then the various kinds of oak; for in this 
tree men recognise more differences than in any 
other. Some simply speak of a cultivated and a wild 
kind, not recognising any distinction made by the 
sweetness of the fruit; (for sweetest is that of the 
kind called Valonia oak, and this they make the wild 
kind), but distinguishing the cultivated kind by its 
growing more commonly on tilled land and having 
smoother timber, while the Valonia oak has rough 
wood and grows in mountain districts. Thus some 
make four kinds, others five. They also in some 
cases vary as to the names assigned; thus the kind 
which bears sweet fruit is called by some hemeris, 
by others ‘true oak.’ So too with other kinds. 
However, to take the classification given by the 
people of Mount Ida, these” are the kinds: hemeris 
(gall-oak), aigilops (Turkey-oak), ‘broad-leaved’ oak 
(scrub oak), Valonia oak, sea-bark oak, which some 
call ‘straight-barked’ oak. 35.411] these bear fruit ; 
but the fruits of Valonia oak are the sweetest, as has 
been said ; second to these those of hemeris (gall-oak), 
third those of the ‘broad-leaved’ oak (scrub oak), 
fourth sea-bark oak, and last aigilops (Turkey- 
oak), whose fruits are very bitter. * However the 
fruit is not always sweet in the kinds specified as 
such®; sometimes it is bitter, that of the Valonia oak 
for instance. There are also differences in the size 
shape and colour of the acorns. Those of Valonia 
oak and sea-bark oak are peculiar; in both of these 
kinds on what are called the ‘male’ trees the acorns 
become stony at one end or the other; in one kind 
this hardening takes place in the end which is 


4 Plin. 16. 19-21. 
5 οὐχ. -. ἐνίοτε conj. W.; text defective in Ald.H. 


205 


THEOPHRASTUS 


αὐτῇ τῇ σαρκί. δι’ ὃ καὶ ἀφαιρεθέντων ὅμοια 
γίνεται κοιλώματα τοῖς ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων. 

Διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ τοῖς φύλλοις καὶ τοῖς στελέ- 
χεσι καὶ τοῖς ξύλοις καὶ τῇ ὅλῃ "μορφῇ. ἡ μὲν 
γὰρ ἡμερὶς οὐκ ὀρθοφυὴς οὐδὲ λεία οὐδὲ μακρά: 
περίκομος γὰρ ἡ φυτεία καὶ ἐπεστραμμένη καὶ 
πολυμάσχαλος, ὥστε ὀζώδη καὶ βραχεῖαν γίνε- 
σθαι: τὸ δὲ ξύλον ἰσχυρὸν μὲν ἀσθενέστερον δὲ 
τῆς φηγοῦ: τοῦτο γὰρ ic υρότατον καὶ ἀσαπέ- 
στατον. οὐκ ὀρθοφυὴς δὲ οὐδ᾽ αὕτη ἀλλ᾽ ἧττον 
ἔτι. τῆς ἡμερίδος, τὸ δὲ στέλεχος παχύτατον, ὥστε 
καὶ τὴν ὅλην μορφὴν βραχεῖαν εἶναι" καὶ γὰρ 
ἡ φυτεία περίκομος καὶ ταύτῃ καὶ οὐκ εἰς ὀρθόν. 
ἡ δὲ αἰγίλωψ ὀρθοφυέστατον καὶ ὑψηλότατον 
καὶ λειότατον καὶ τὸ ξύλον εἰς μῆκος ἰσχυρότατον. 
οὐ φύεται δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἐργασίμοις ἢ σπανίως. 

Ἢ δὲ TRATUPUAROS δεύτερον ὀρθοφυΐᾳ καὶ 
μήκει, πρὸς δὲ τὴν χρείαν τὴν οἰκοδομικὴν χες, 
ριστον μετὰ τὴν ἁλίφλοιον, φαῦλον δὲ καὶ εἰς τὸ 
καίειν καὶ ἀνθρακεύειν, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ τῆς ἁλι- 
φλοίου, καὶ θριπηδέστατον. μετ᾽ ἐκείνην" ἡ γὰρ 
ἁλίφλοιος παχὺ μὲν ἔχει τὸ στέλεχος χαῦνον δὲ 
καὶ κοῖλον ἐὰν ἔχῃ πώχος ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ, δι᾽ 
ὃ καὶ ἀχρεῖον εἰς τὰς οἰκοδομάς" ἔτι δὲ σήπεται 
τάχιστα" καὶ γὰρ ἔνυγρόν ἐστι τὸ δένδρον" δι᾽ ὃ 
καὶ κοίλη γίνεται. φασὶ δέ τίνες οὐδ᾽ ee 
εἶναι μόνῃ. λέγουσιν ὡς καὶ κεραυνοβλῆτες 
αὗται μόναι γίνονται καίπερ ὕψος οὐκ ἔχουσαι 





1 fe. at the ‘top’ end; πρὸς : ? ἐν, πρὸς being repeated by 
mistake. 
2 ζῴων MSS.; aay conj. Palm. 3 Plin. 16, 22. 


206 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vin. 3-5 


attached to the cup, in the other in the flesh itself. 
Wherefore, when the cups are taken off, we find a 
cavity like the visceral cavities in animals.? 

3 There are also differences in leaves trunk timber 
and general appearance. Hemeris (gall-oak) is not 
straight-growing nor smooth nor tall, for its growth 
is very leafy * and twisted, with many side-branches, 
so that it makes a low much-branched tree : its timber 
is strong, but not so strong as that of the Valonia 
oak, for that is the strongest and the least liable to 
rot. This ὃ kind too is not straight-growing, even less 
so than the hemeris (gall-oak), but the trunk is very 
thick, so that the whole appearance is stunted; for 
in growth this kind too is very leafy ὁ and not erect. 
The aigilops (Turkey oak) is the straightest growing 
and also the tallest and smoothest, and its wood, cut 
lengthways, is the strongest. It does not grow on 
tilled land, or very rarely. 

The ‘ broad-leaved ’ oak (scrub oak) ® comes second 
as to straightness of growth and length of timber to 
be got from it, but for use in building it is the worst 
next after the sea-bark oak, and it is even poor wood 
for burning and making charcoal, as is also that of 
the sea-bark oak, and next after this kind it is the 
most worm-eaten. For the sea-bark oak has a thick 
trunk, but it is generally spongy and hollow when 
it is thick; wherefore it is useless for building. 
Moreover it rots very quickly, for the tree contains 
much moisture; and that is why it also becomes 
hollow ; and some say that it is the only? oak which 
has no heart. And some of the Aeolians say that 
these are the only oaks which are struck by light- 


45,6. of bushy habit. 5 αὕτη conj. Sch.; αὐτὴ UAld. 
Plin. 16. 23 and 24. 7 μόνῃ conj. St.; μόνην Ald. H. 


207 


THEOPHRASTUS 


A > / / > \ \ \ e \ nA 
τῶν Αἰολέων τινές, οὐδὲ πρὸς τὰ ἱερὰ χρῶνται 

a / Ν Ν Φ ἣν / \ \ 
τοῖς ξύλοις. κατὰ μὲν οὖν τὰ ξύλα καὶ τὰς 
“ \ > / ς / 
ὅλας μορφὰς ἐν τούτοις αἱ διαφοραί. 

/ 

Κηκίδας δὲ πάντα φέρει τὰ γένη, μόνη δὲ εἰς 
τὰ δέρματα χρησίμην ἡ ἡμερίς. ἡ δὲ τῆς αἰγί- 
λωπος καὶ τῆς πλατυφύλλου τῇ μὲν ὄψει παρο- 

a a / \ a 
pola TH τῆς ἡμερίδος, πλὴν λειοτέρα, ἀχρεῖος δέ. 
\ / 
φέρει καὶ τὴν ἑτέραν τὴν μέλαιναν ἡ τὰ ἔρια 
“ / 
βάπτουσιν. ὃ δὲ καλοῦσί τινες φάσκον ὅμοιον 
al « ’ ς dele / / \ \ 
τοῖς ῥακίοις ἡ αὐἰγίλωψ' μόνη φέρει πολιὸν καὶ 
\ a 
τραχύ' Kal yap πηχυαῖον κατακρεμάννυται, 
/ >] / / / 
καθάπερ τρύχος ὀθονίου μακρόν. φύεται δὲ 
τοῦτο ἐκ τοῦ φλοιοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἐκ τῆς κορύνης 
δ “ ᾽ tal 
ὅθεν ἡ βάλανος, οὐδ᾽ ἐξ ὀφθαλμοῦ ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ 
lal / b) ς 7 

πλαγίου τῶν ἄνωθεν ὄζων. ἡ δ᾽ ἁλίφλοιος ἐπί- 

an / 4 

μέλαν τοῦτο φύει καὶ βραχύ. 
« \ φ > a ” “ a e 

Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἐκ τῆς Ἴδης οὕτως διαιροῦσιν. οἱ 

/ a 
δὲ περὶ Μακεδονίαν τέτταρα γένη ποιοῦσιν, 
/ 
ἐτυμόδρυν ἣ Tas γλυκείας, πλατύφυλλον ἣ τὰς 
ἃ \ 4 
πικράς, φηγὸν ἣ τὰς στρογγύλας, ἄσπριν" ταύτην 
Ν « \ ” “. € x a x / 
δὲ of μὲν ἄκαρπον ὅλως οἱ δὲ φαῦλον τὸν καρπόν, 
΄σ \ 2 , “ \ Cur \ / 
ὥστε μηδὲν ἐσθίειν ζῶον πλὴν ὑός, καὶ ταύτην 
“ δ. Κλ A, \ \ \ / 
ὅταν ἑτέραν μὴ ἔχῃ" καὶ τὰ πολλὰ λαμβάνεσθαι 
\ \ 
mepixeparaia. μοχθηρὰ δὲ καὶ τὰ ξύλα: πελε- 


1 Plin. 16. 26. 

2 φάσκον... . ῥακίοις conj. Sch. (ῥακίοις Salm.) : φάσκος ὅμοιος 
τοῖς βραχείοις UP, ; φάσκον ὁμοίως τοῖς βραγχίοις Ald.H. Plin 
16. 33, cf. 12. 108; Diosc. 1. 20; Hesych. 5.υ. φάσπκος. 

3 τραχὺ conj. W.; βραχὺ UP. * xoptyns. cf. 3. 5. 1. 


208 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vit. 5-7 


ning, although they are not lofty; nor do they use 
the wood for their sacrifices. Such then are the 
differences as to timber and general appearance. 

1 All the kinds produce galls, but only hemeris 
(gall-oak) produces one which is of use for tanning 
hides. That of aigilops (Turkey-oak) and that of the 
‘broad-leaved’ oak (scrub oak) are in appearance 
like that of hemeris (gall-oak), but smoother and use- 
less. This also produces the other gall, the black 
kind, with which they dye wool. The substance 
which some call tree-moss and which resembles rags? 
is borne only by the aigilops (Turkey-oak) ; it is grey 
and rough 8 and hangs down for a cubit’s length, like 
a jong shred of linen. This grows from the bark and 
not from the knob‘ whence the acorn starts; nor 
does it grow from an eye, but from the side of the 
upper boughs. The sea-bark oak also produces this, 
but it is blackish ® and short. 

Thus the people of Mount Ida distinguish. But 
the people of Macedonia make four kinds, ‘ true-oak,’ 
or the oak which bears the sweet acorns, ‘ broad- 
Yeaved’ oak (scrub oak), or that which bears the 
bitter ones, Valonia oak, or that which bears the 
round ones, and aspris® (Turkey-oak); ‘the last- 
named some say is altogether without fruit, some 
say it bears poor fruit, so that no animal eats it 
except the pig, and only he when he can get no 
others, and that after eating it the pig mostly 
gets an affection of the head.§ The wood is also 
wretched ; when hewn with the axe it is altogether 


5 ῥτίμελαν τοῦτο φύει conj. Scal.; ἐπιμ. τοῦτο φύσει U; ἐπὶ 
μελίαν τοῦτο φύει MVAId. 

6 See Index. 7 Plin. 16. 24. 

8 περικεφαλαίᾳ : apparently the name of a disease. 


209 


THEOPHRASTUS 


κηθέντα μὲν ὅλως ἀχρεῖα' καταρήγνυται yap Kal 
/ > “ \ / > νὰ \ ef 
διαπίπτει" ἀπελέκητα δὲ βελτίω, δι’ ὃ Kal οὕτω 
χρῶνται. μοχθηρὰ δὲ καὶ εἰς καῦσιν καὶ εἰς 
’ / > a \ .“ ig » \ \ 
ἀνθρακείαν' ἀχρεῖος yap ὅλως ὁ ἄνθραξ διὰ τὸ 
-“ / \ a -“ 
πηδᾶν καὶ σπινθηρίζειν πλὴν τοῖς χαλκεῦσι. 
τούτοις δὲ χρησιμώτερος τῶν ἄλλων" διὰ γὰρ τὸ 
“ 4 
ἀποσβέννυσθαι, ὅταν παύσηται φυσώμενος, ὀλίγος 
᾽ \ \ n ig , / > 
ἀναλίσκεται. [τὸ δὲ τῆς ἁλιφλοίου χρήσιμον εἰς 
/ \ a 
τοὺς ἄξονας μόνον Kal τὰ τοιαῦτα. δρυὸς μὲν 
a \ 
οὖν ταύτας ποιοῦσι τὰς ἰδέας. 
“ \ » > 4 A \ ΄,ὔ 
ΙΧ, Τῶν δὲ ἄλλων ἐλάττους: καὶ σχεδὸν τά 
a c ” \ / / 
γε πλεῖστα διαιροῦσι ἄρρενι Kal θήλει, καθάπερ 
εἴρηται, πλὴν ὀλίγων ὧν ἐστι καὶ ἡ πεύκη: 
πεύκης γὰρ τὸ μὲν ἥμερον ποιοῦσι τὸ δ᾽ ἄγριον, 
a te) / rs / n \ \ \ ᾽ ’, 
τῆς δ᾽ ἀγρίας δύο γένη: καλοῦσι δὲ τὴν μὲν ᾿Ιδαίαν 
/ > ΙΑ 
τὴν δὲ παραλίαν: τούτων δὲ ὀρθοτέρα καὶ μακρο- 
’ >,! \ 4 ” / Ce | / 
τέρα καὶ τὸ φύλλον ἔχουσα παχύτερον ἡ ᾿Ιδαία, 
Ν Ν / , \ 3 , ς 
τὸ δὲ φύλλον λεπτότερον καὶ ἀμενηνότερον ἡ 
/ Ν U Ν \ \ ? \ 
παραλία Kal λειότερον τὸν φλοιὸν καὶ εἰς τὰ 
¢ / a 
δέρματα χρήσιμον: ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα οὔ. Kal τῶν 
a / 
στροβίλων ὁ μὲν τῆς παραλίας στρογγύλος τε 
7 « -“ > 
καὶ διαχάσκων ταχέως, ὁ δὲ τῆς ᾿Ιδαίας paxpo- 
τερος καὶ χλωρὸς καὶ ἧττον χάσκων ὡς ἂν 
\ / >? / a 
ἀγριώτερος: τὸ δὲ ξύλον ἰσχυρότερον τὸ τῆς 
a x \ / 
παραλίας: δεῖ yap καὶ τὰς τοιαύτας διαφορὰς 





1 Plin. 16. 23. 

3 τὸ δὲ... τοιαῦτα : this sentence seems out of place, as 
ἁλίφλοιος was not one of the ‘ Macedonian’ oaks mentioned 
above (Sch.). 


210 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. vin. 7-1x. 1 


useless, for it breaks in pieces and falls asunder ; 
if it is not hewn with the axe it is better, where- 
fore they so use it. ΤΠ is even wretched. for 
burning and for making charcoal; for the charcoal 
is entirely useless except to the smith, because it 
springs about and emits sparks. But for use in the 
smithy it is more serviceable than the other kinds, 
since, as it goes out when it ceases to be blown, little 
of it is consumed. 2 The wood of the sea-bark oak 
is only useful for wheel-axles and the like purposes. 
Such are the varieties of the oak? which men 
make out. 


Of the differences in firs. 


ΙΧ. #The differences between other trees are fewer; 
for the most part men distinguish them merely 
according as they are ‘male’ or ‘ female,’ as has been 
said, except in a few cases including the fir ; for in this 
tree they distinguish the wild and the cultivated ὃ 
kinds, and make two wild kinds, calling one the $ fir 
of Ida’ (Corsican pine®) the other the ‘fir of the 
sea-shore’ (Aleppo pine); of these the former is 
straighter and taller and has thicker leaves,’ while 
in the latter the leaves are slenderer and weaker, 
and the bark is smoother and useful for tanning 
hides, which the other is not. Moreover the cone of 
the seaside kind is round and soon splits open, while 
that of the Idaean kind is longer and green and 
does not open so much, as being of wilder character. 
The timber of the seaside kind is stronger,—for one 
must note such differences also between trees of the 

3T. describes πρῖνος σμῖλαξ, and φελλόδρυς in 3. 16, 
φελλός in 3. 17. 1. 


4 Plin. 16. 43. > Stone pine. See Index. 
6 Plin, 16. 48. 7 φύλλον W. conj.; ξύλον UMVP. 


211 


THEOPHRASTUS 


λαμβάνειν τῶν συγγενῶν" γνώριμοι yap διὰ τὴν 
χρείαν. 
᾽ , \ \ / “ ΝΜ 
Ορθότερον δὲ καὶ παχύτερον, ὥσπερ εἴπομεν, 
ἡ ᾿Ιδαία, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις πιττωδέστερον ὅλως τὸ 
/ ΄ \ , \ / \ 
δένδρον, μελαντέρᾷ δὲ πίττῃ καὶ γλυκυτέρᾳ καὶ 
λεπτοτέρᾳ καὶ εὐωδεστέρᾳ, ὅταν ἢ wp ἑψη- 
a \ lf > / \ \ \ 
θεῖσα δὲ χείρων ἐκβαίνει διὰ τὸ πολὺν ἔχειν TOV 
ὀρρόν. ἐοίκασι δ᾽ ἅπερ οὗτοι διαιροῦσιν ὀνόμασιν 
ἰδίοις οἱ ἄλλοι διαιρεῖν τῷ ἄρρενι καὶ θήλει. 
ἣν. ᾽ « \ ’ aes / 4 
φασὶ δ᾽ οἱ περὶ Μακεδονίαν καὶ ἄκαρπόν τι γένος 
ὅλως εἶναι πεύκης, καὶ τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν βραχύτερόν 
ῇ \ na 
Te Kal σκληροφυλλότερον, τὸ δὲ θῆλυ εὐμηκέ- 
\ \ 
στερον, καὶ Ta φύλλα λιπαρὰ καὶ ἁπαλὰ καὶ 
κεκλιμένα μᾶλλον ἔχειν: ἔτι δὲ τὰ ξύλα τῆς μὲν 
/ \ \ ΄ 
ἄρρενος περίμητρα καὶ σκληρὰ καὶ ἐν ταῖς 
/ / a \ ’ὔ 
ἐργασίαις στρεφόμενα, τῆς δὲ θηλείας εὐεργὰ καὶ 
ἀστραβῆ καὶ μαλακώτερα. 
\ \ , ς ὃ \ , “ 
Σχεδὸν δὲ κοινή τις ἡ διαφορὰ πάντων τῶν 
bd / \ lal ς ee fe , “ 
ἀρρένων καὶ θηλειῶν, ὡς οἱ ὑλοτόμοι φασίν. ἅπαν 
γὰρ τὸ ἄρρεν τῇ πελεκήσει καὶ βραχύτερον καὶ 
» / nr \ s \ nr 
ἐπεστραμμενον μᾶλλον ea! δυσεργότερον καὶ τῷ 
χρώματι μελάντερον, τὸ δὲ θῆλυ εὐμηκέστερον'" 
. \ δέ / a 
ἐπεὶ καὶ τὴν αἰγίδα THY καλουμένην ἡ θήλεια τῆς 
a ᾽ tod 
πεύκης ἔχει: τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶ τὸ ἐγκάρδιον αὐτῆς" 


1 συγγενῶν conj. R. Const.; ἀγγείων UAld.; ἐγγείων MV 
mBas. 

2 γνώριμοι conj. R. Const.; γνώριμος UAId.H.; γνώριμα 
conj. W. 

3 ὀρθότερον conj. R. Const.; ὀξύτερον UMVAId. 

+ μελαντέρᾳ. .. εὐωδεστέρᾳ conj. W.; μελάντεραι δὲ πίττη 
καὶ γλυκύτεραι καὶ λεπτότεραι καὶ εὐωδέστεραι UMV; μελαντέρα 
212 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. ix. 1-3 


same kind,! since it is by their use that the different 
characters are recognised.’ 

The Idaean kind is, as we have said, of straighter 3 
and stouter growth, and moreover the tree is 
altogether more full of pitch, and its pitch is blacker 
sweeter thinner and more fragrant* when it is 
fresh; though, when it is boiled, it turns out 
inferior,> because it contains so much watery matter. 
However it appears that the kinds which these 
people distinguish by special names are distinguished 
by others merely as ‘male’ and ‘female.’ The 
people of Macedonia say that there is also a kind of 
fir which bears no fruit whatever, in which the 
‘male’® (Aleppo pine) is shorter and has harder 
leaves, while the ‘female’ (Corsican pine) is taller 
and has glistening delicate leaves which are more 
pendent. Moreover the timber of the ‘male’ kind 
has much heart-wood,’ is tough, and warps in joinery 
work, while that of the ‘female’ is easy to work, 
does not warp,® and is softer. 

This distinction between ‘male’ and ‘female’ 
may, according to the woodmen, be said to be common 
to all trees. Any wood of a ‘male’ tree, when one 
comes to cut it with the axe, gives shorter lengths, 
is more twisted, harder to work, and darker in 
colour; while the ‘female’ gives better lengths. 
For it is the ‘female’ fir which contains what is 
called the azgis®; this is the heart of the tree; the 


δὲ καὶ γλυκυτέρα καὶ λεπτοτέρα Kal εὐωδεστέρα Ald. λεπτοτέρᾳ, 
? less viscous. 

ΠΟ 9.9. ὁ. ΕἸ 10: 60: 6 Plin:, 16. 47. 

7 περίμητρα conj. R. Const.: so Mold. explains; περιμήτρια 
ὌΝΟΝ οὐ 5: 9.6: 

8 ἀστραβῆ conj. R. Const.; εὐστραβῆ Ald. 

9 aiylia: ef. 0. 1. 9; Plin. 16. 187. 


213 


THEOPHRASTUS 


v \ of ’ , \ ? yy \ 
αἴτιον δὲ ὅτι ἀπευκοτέρα Kal ἧττον ἔνδᾳδος Kai 
/ / / “- 
λειοτέρα καὶ εὐκτεανωτέρα. γίνεται δὲ ἐν τοῖς 
al / , / 
μέγεθος ἔχουσι τῶν δένδρων, ὅταν ἐκπεσόντα περι- 
A x \ / 
σαπῇ τὰ λευκὰ TA κύκλῳ. τούτων γὰρ περι- 
4 \ ’ a / 
αἱρεθέντων καὶ καταλειφθείσης τῆς μήτρας ἐκ 
-“ Ν 
ταύτης πελεκᾶται" ἔστι δὲ εὔχρουν σφόδρα καὶ 
Iw A \ e \ \ ” \ 
λεπτόϊνον. ὃ δὲ οἱ περὶ τὴν Ἴδην δαδουργοὶ 
fal a x 33 / 5 na si Δ 
καλοῦσι συκῆν, τὸ ἐπιγιγνόμενον ἐν ταῖς πεύκαις, 
᾽ / \ \ a ’ > “-“ ” , 
ἐρυθρότερον τὴν χροιὰν τῆς δᾳδός, ἐν τοῖς ἄρρεσίν 
’ rn Lal n > 
ἐστι μᾶλλον: δυσῶδες δὲ τοῦτο Kal οὐκ ὄζει δαδὸς 
» \ / > > ’ lal > \ A , < 
οὐδὲ καίεται ἀλλ᾽ ἀποπηδᾷ ἀπὸ τοῦ πυρός. 
= lal / Ὁ“ 
Πεύκης μὲν οὖν ταῦτα γένη ποιοῦσιν, ἥμερόν 
\ a / , \ 
τε Kal ἄγριον, Kal τῆς ἀγρίας appevd TE καὶ 
/ \ , e 
θήλειαν καὶ τρίτην THY ἄκαρπον. οἱ δὲ περὶ THY 
> / ” \ ” / ” \ 
Λρκαδίαν οὔτε τὴν ἄκαρπον λέγουσιν οὔτε τὴν 
oy ΄ > \ , - , ον \ 
ἥμερον πεύκην, AANA πίτυν εἰναι Pact καὶ yap τὸ 
/ be A , “- 
στέλεχος ἐμφερέστατον εἶναι τῇ πίτυϊ καὶ ἔχειν 
/ \ \ / cr 
τήν τε λεπτότητα καὶ TO μέγεθος Kal ἐν ταῖς 
Ν \ / \ \ fal 7 
ἐργασίαις ταὐτὸ τὸ ξύλον' τὸ γὰρ τῆς πεύκης καὶ 
\ 2 
παχύτερον Kal λειότερον καὶ ὑψηλότερον εἶναι" 
\ \ / , 
καὶ τὰ φύλλα τὴν μὲν πεύκην ἔχειν πολλὰ καὶ 
\ \ 4 \ 4 \ \ , 
λιπαρὰ καὶ βαθέα καὶ κεκλιμένα, THY δὲ πίτυν 
, / Ψ / . 
Kal τὴν κωνοφύρον ταύτην ὀλίγα TE καὶ αὐχμωδέ- 
\ , r vy \ , 
στερα καὶ πεφρικότα μᾶλλον: «ἄμφω δὲ τριχό- 
Ν \ / /, a 
φυλλα.» ἔτι δὲ THY πίτταν ἐμφερεστέραν τῆς 





1 εὐκτεανωτέρα: εὐκτηδονωτέρα conj. R. Const. ef. 5.1.9; 
but text is supported by Hesych. s.v. ἰθυκτέανον. 

2 T omit καὶ before τὰ κύκλῳ. 

3 Plin. 16. 44. 


214 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1x. 3-4 


reason being that it is less resinous, less soaked with 
pitch, smoother, and of straighter grain. This azgis 
is found in the larger trees, when, as they have fallen 
down, the white outside part? has decayed; when 
this has been stripped off and the core left, it is 
cut out of this with the axe; and it is of a good 
colour with fine fibre. However the substance 
which the torch-cutters of Mount Ida call the $ fig,’ * 
which forms in the fir and is redder in colour than 
the resin, is found more in the ‘ male’ trees; it has 
an evil smell, not like the smell of resin, nor will it 
burn, but it leaps away from the fire. 

4Such are the kinds of fir which they make out, 
the cultivated and the wild, the latter including the 
‘male’ and the ‘female’ and also the kind which 
bears no fruit. However the Arcadians say that 
neither the sterile kind nor the cultivated is a fir, 
but a pine; for, they say, the trunk closely resembles 
the pine and has its slenderness, its stature, and the 
same kind® of wood for purposes of joinery, the 
trunk of the fir being thicker smoother and taller ; 
moreover that the fir has many leaves, which are 
glossy massed together® and pendent, while in the 
pine and in the above-mentioned cone-bearing tree’ 
the leaves are few and drier and stiffer; though in 
both the leaves are hair-like.’ Also, they say, the 
pitch of this tree is more like that of the pine; for 


4 ταῦτα γένη conj. R. Const. from G3 ταῦτά γε UMVAIC.; 
Plin. 16. 45-49. 

5 ταὐτὸ conj. W.; αὐτὸ Ald. 

δ βαθέα: δασέα conj. R. Const. cf. 3. 16. 2. 

7 2,6. the cultivated πεύκη (so called). T. uses this peri- 
phrasis to avoid begging the question of the name. 

8 ἄμφω δὲ τριχ. ins. here by Sch.; in MSS. and Ald. the 
words occur in ὃ 5 after πιττωδέστερον. 


215 


THEOPHRASTUS 


πίτυος" Kal yap τὴν πίτυν ἔχειν ὀλίγην TE καὶ 
πικράν, ὥσπερ καὶ τὴν κωνοφόρον, τὴν. δὲ πεύκην 
εὐώδη καὶ πολλήν. φύεται δ᾽ ἐν μὲν τῇ ᾿Αρκαδίᾳ 
ἡ πίτυς ὀλίγη περὶ δὲ τὴν Ηλείαν πολλή. οὗτοι 
μὲν οὖν ὅλῳ τῷ γένει διαμφισβητοῦσιν. 

Ἢ δὲ πίτυς δοκεῖ τῆς πεύκης καὶ διαφέρειν τῷ 
λιπαρωτέρα τε εἶναι καὶ λεπτοφυλλοτέρα καὶ τὸ 
μέγεθος ἐλάττων καὶ ἧττον ὀρθοφυής" ἔτι δὲ τὸν 
κῶνον ἐλάττω φέρειν καὶ πεφρικότα μᾶλλον καὶ 
τὸ κάρυον πιττωδέστερον' καὶ τὰ ξύλα λευκότερα 
καὶ ὁμοιότερα τῇ ἐλάτῃ καὶ τὸ ὅλον ἄπευκα. 
διαφορὰν & “ἔχει καὶ ταύτην μεγάλην πρὸς τὴν 
πεύκην" πεύκην μὲν γὰρ ἐπικαυθεισῶν τῶν ῥιζῶν 
οὐκ ἀναβλαστάνειν, τὴν πίτυν δέ φασί τινες ἀνα- 
βλαστάνειν, ὥσπερ καὶ ἐν Λέσβῳ ἐμπρησθέντος 
τοῦ Πυρραίων ὄρους τοῦ πιτυώδους. νόσημα δὲ 
ταῖς πεύκαις τοιοῦτόν τι λέγουσι συμβαίνειν οἱ 
περὶ τὴν Ἴδην ὥστ᾽, ὅταν μὴ μόνον τὸ ἐγκάρδιον 
ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἔξω τοῦ στελέχους ἔνδᾳδον γένηται, 
τηνικαῦτα ὥσπερ ἀποπνίγεσθαι. τοῦτο δὲ αὐτό- 
ματον συμβαίνει Ov εὐτροφίαν τοῦ δένδρου, ὡς av 
τις εἰκάσειεν: ὅλον γὰρ γίνεται δάς" περὶ μὲν οὖν 
τὴν πεύκην ἴδιον τοῦτο πάθος. 

᾿Ελάτη δ' ἐστὶν ἡ μὲν ἄρρην ἡ δὲ θήλεια, δια- 
φορὰς δ᾽ ἔχουσα τοῖς φύλλοις" ὀξύτερα γὰρ καὶ 
κεντητικώτερα τὰ τοῦ ἄρρενος, καὶ ἐπεστ βαμμένα 
μᾶλλον, δι’ ὃ καὶ οὐλότερον τῇ ὄψει φαίνεται τὸ 
δένδρον ὅλον. καὶ τῷ Etho λευκότερον γὰρ καὶ 
μαλακώτερον καὶ εὐεργέστερον τὸ τῆς θηλείας καὶ 


1 πικρὰν conj. R. Const. from G ; μικρὰν VAId. a 
2 καὶ ταύτην μεγάλην πρὸς conj. Sch.; kal τὴν μεγΎ. πρὸς 
ΟΜΝ; μεγάλην πρὸς Ald, 


216 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1x. 4-6 


in the pine too it is scanty and bitter,! as in this 
other cone-bearing tree, but in the fir it is fragrant 
and abundant. Now the pine is rare in Arcadia, 
but common in Elis. The Arcadians then dispute 
altogether the nomenclature. 

The pine appears to differ also from the fir in 
being glossier and having finer leaves, while it is 
smaller in stature and does not grow so straight ; 
also in bearing a smaller cone, which is stiffer and 
has a more pitchy kernel, while its wood is whiter, 
more like that of the silver-fir, and wholly free from 
pitch. And there is another great difference? 
between it and the fir; the fir, if it is burnt down 
to the roots, does not shoot up again, while the 
pine, according to some, will do so; for instance 
this happened in Lesbos,*? when the pine-forest of 
Pyrrha* was burnt. The people of Ida say that the 
fir is liable to a kind of disease ;—when not only the 
heart but the outer part of the trunk becomes glutted ὅ 
with pitch, the tree then is as it were choked. This 
happens of its own accord through the excessive 
luxuriance of the tree, as one may conjecture ; for 
it all turns into pitch-glutted wood. This then is an 
affection peculiar to the fir. 

6 The silver-fir is either ‘male’ or ‘female,’ and 
has differences in its leaves’; those of the ‘male’ 
are sharper more needle-like and more bent ; where- 
fore the whole tree has a more compact appearance. 
There are also differences in the wood, that of the 
‘female’ being whiter softer and easier to work, 
es Λέσβῳ conj. W. from G, and Plin. 16. 46; eis Λέσβον 

4 On the W. of Lesbos, modern Caloni. cf. 2.2.6; Plin. 1.6. 


5 of. 1.6.1; Plin. 16. 44. 
6 Plin. 16. 48. ΤΟΙ 8:9. 


217 


THEOPHRASTUS 


TO ὅλον στέλεχος εὐμηκέστερον' τὸ δὲ τοῦ ἄρρε- 
νος ποικιλώτερον καὶ παχύτερον καὶ σκληρότερον 
καὶ περίμητρον. μᾶλλον ὅλως δὲ φαυλότερον τὴν 
ὄψιν. ἐν δὲ τῷ κώνῳ τῷ μὲν τοῦ ἄρρενός ἐστι 
κάρυα ὀλίγα ἐπὶ τοῦ ἄκρου, τῷ δὲ τῆς θηλείας 
ὅλως οὐδέν, ὡς οἱ ἐκ Μακεδονίας ἔλεγον. ἔχει δὲ 
πτέρυγας τὸ φύλλον καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἔλαττον, ὥστε τὴν 
ὅλην μορφὴν εἶναι θολοειδῆ καὶ παρόμοιον (pa 
λιστα ταῖς Βοιωτίαις κυνέαις" πυκνὸν δὲ οὕτως 
ὥστε μήτε χιόνα διϊέναι μήθ᾽ ὑετόν. ὅλως δὲ καὶ 
τῇ ὄψει τὸ δένδρον καλόν" καὶ γὰρ ἡ βλάστησις 
ἰδία τις, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, παρὰ τὰς ἄλλας καὶ μόνη 
τάξιν ἐ ἔχουσα" τῷ δὲ μεγέθει μέγα καὶ πολὺ τῆς 
πεύκης εὐμηκέστερον. 

Διαφέρει δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὸ ξύλον οὐ μικρόν: τὸ 
μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἐλάτης ἰνῶδες καὶ μαλακὸν καὶ κοῦ- 
gov, τὸ δὲ τῆς πεύκης δᾳδῶδες καὶ βαρὺ καὶ 
σαρκωδέστερον. ὄζους δὲ ἔχει πλείους μὲν ἡ 
πεύκη σκληροτέρους δ᾽ ἡ ἐλάτη, σχεδὸν δὲ πάν- 
των ὡς εἰπεῖν σκληροτέρους, τὸ δὲ ξύλον μαλα- 
κώτερον. ὅλως δὲ οἱ ὄζοι πυκνότατοι καὶ “στερεώ- 
TATOL μόνον οὐ διαφανεῖς ἐλάτης καὶ πεύκης καὶ 
τῷ χρώματι δᾳδώδεις καὶ μάλιστα διάφοροι τοῦ 
ξύλου, μᾶλλον ᾿δὲ τῆς ἐλάτης. ἔχει δέ, ὥσπερ ἡ 
πεύκη τὴν αἰγίδα, καὶ ἡ ἐλάτη τὸ λευκὸν λοῦσσον 


1 παχύτερον conj. W.; πλατύτερον Ald. 

2 Plin. 16. 48 and 49. 3 For the tense see Intr. p. xx. 

4 φύλλον, 1.6. the leafy shoot. Sch. considers φύλλον to 
be corrupt, and refers the following description to the cone ; 
W. marks a lacuna after φύλλον. Pliny, l.c., seems to have 
read φύλλον, but does not render καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἔλαττον... κυνέαις. 
The words καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἔλαττον can hardly be sound as they stand. 
For the description of the foliage cf. 1. 10. 5. 


218 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1x. 6-7 


while the whole trunk is longer; that of the ‘ male’ 
is less of a uniform colour thicker! and harder, has 
more heart-wood, and is altogether inferior in appear- 
ance. In the cone? of the ‘male’ are a few seeds at 
the apex, while that of the ‘female,’ according to 
what the Macedonians said,? contains none at all. 
The foliage* is feathered and the height dispropor- 
tionate so that the general appearance of the tree 
is dome-like,° and closely resembles the Boeotian 
peasant’s hat®; and it is so dense that neither snow 
nor rain penetrates it. And in general the tree has 
a handsome appearance; for its growth is somewhat 
peculiar, as has been said, compared with the others, 
it being the only one which is regular, and in stature 
it is large, much taller than the fir. 

7 There is also not a little difference in the wood: 
that of the silver-fir is fibrous ὃ soft and light, that of 
the fir is resinous heavy and more fleshy. The fir 
has more knots,? but the silver-fir harder ones; 
indeed they may be said to be harder than those of 
any tree, though the wood otherwise is softer. And 
in general the knots of silver-fir and fir are of the 
closest and most solid 10 texture and almost 11 trans- 
parent: in colour they are like resin-glutted wood, 
and quite different from the rest of the wood; and 
this is especially so!” in the silver-fir. And just as 
the fir has its azgis,!3 so the silver-fir has what is 


5 θολοειδῇ conj. Scal.; θηλοειδῇ U (erased) ; θηλοειδὲς MV; 
ut concameratum imitetur G3  θολιοειδῇ ; in Theocr. 15. 39. 
θολία seems to be a sun-hat. 

8 κυνέαις : cf. Hesych. s.v. κυνῇ Βοιωτία, apparently a hat 
worn in the fields. 


Το: 5. 19 ἢ: Sef 1.5: ΕΟ 100 
10 cf. 5. 1. 6, κερατώδεις. 11 οὐ ins. Sch. 
12 μᾶλλον δὲ conj. W.; μᾶλλον ἢ Ald. AS We finen'9s 5: 


219 


THEOPHRASTUS 


/ > / a 5: sh \ \ 
καλούμενον, οἷον ἀντίστροφον TH αἰγίδι, πλὴν TO 
\ Ἂν « ’ bah 7 \ \ ” 
μὲν λευκὸν ἡ δ᾽ αἰγὶς εὔχρως διὰ τὸ ἔνδᾳδον. 
Ν a 
πυκνὸν δὲ Kal λευκὸν γίνεται Kal καλὸν ἐκ TOV 
/ ” / » \ / \ 
πρεσβυτέρων ἤδη δένδρων: ἀλλὰ σπάνιον τὸ 
/ Ν \ \ / > La / a 
χρηστόν, τὸ δὲ τυχὸν δαψιλές, ἐξ οὗ Ta TE τῶν 
a \ a 
ζωγράφων πινάκια ποιοῦσι καὶ τὰ γραμματεῖα τὰ 
΄ Ν Ee poe) / > a , 
πολλά: Ta δ᾽ ἐσπουδασμένα ἐκ τοῦ βελτίονος. 
/ / A 
Oi δὲ περὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν ἀμφότερα καλοῦσιν 
\ n / \ \ an 
αἰγίδα καὶ τὴν τῆς πεύκης Kal THY τῆς ἐλάτης, 
- \ 
καὶ εἶναι πλείω THY τῆς ἐλάτης ἀλλὰ καλλίω τὴν 
- = \ a \ / / 
τῆς πεύκης" εἶναι γὰρ τῆς μὲν ἐλάτης πολλήν τε 
“ \ fas 3 , 
Kal λείαν καὶ πυκνήν, τῆς δὲ πεύκης ὀλίγην, τὴν 
> td 
μέντοι οὖσαν οὐλοτέραν καὶ ἰσχυροτέραν Kal TO 
“ ΄ Φ Ν Φ Ψ 9} al 2 , 
ὅλον καλλίω. οὗτοι μὲν οὖν ἐοίκασι τοῖς ὀνόμασι 
ia) € Ne a> / 7 ” \ 
διαφωνεῖν. ἡ δὲ ἐλάτη ταύτας ἔχει τὰς διαφο- 
\ » 
pas πρὸς τὴν πεύκην καὶ ETL τὴν περὶ THY ap- 
ὃ , 
φαυξιν, ἣν πρότερον εἴπομεν. 
Ν ’ 
X. Ὀξύη δ᾽ οὐκ ἔχει διαφορὰς ἀλλ᾽ ἐστὶ povo- 
, 2 \ XN \ a Nf. \ , 
γενές: ὀρθοφυὲς δὲ καὶ λεῖον καὶ ἄνοζον Kai πάχος 
καὶ ὕψος ἔχον σχεδὸν ἴσον τῇ ἐλάτῃ: καὶ τἄλλα 
\ , \ , ΄, ΚΙ δὴ 
δὲ παρόμοιον [τε] τὸ δένδρον: ξύλον δὲ εὔχρουν 
ἰσχυρὸν εὔινον καὶ φλοιὸν λεῖον καὶ παχύν, φύλ- 
’ 
λον δ᾽ ἀσχιδὲς προμηκέστερον ἀπίου καὶ ἐπα- 
/ > » ev ” \ » \ 
κάνθιζον ἐξ ἄκρου, ῥίζας οὔτε πολλὰς οὔτε κατὰ 
lal ΄ 
βάθους: ὁ δὲ καρπὸς λεῖος βαλανώδης ἐν ἐχίνῳ 





1 αἵ. Eur. 1.4. 99; Hipp. 1254. 

2 τὰ δ᾽ conj. Scal.; καὶ Ald. 

3 πεύκης conj. Scal. from G; ἐλάτης Ald. 
4 ἐλάτης conj. Scal. from G3 πεύκης Ald. 


220 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. 1x. 7-x. 1 


called its white ‘ centre,’ which answers, as it were, to 
the aigis of the fir, except that it is white, while 
the other is bright-coloured because it is glutted with 
pitch. It becomes close white and good in trees 
which are of some age, but it is seldom found in good 
condition, while the ordinary form of it is abundant 
and is used to make painters’ boards and ordinary 
writing tablets,! superior ones being? made of the 
better form. 

However the Arcadians call both substances aigis, 
alike that of the fir? and the corresponding part of 
the silver-fir,# and say that, though the silver-fir 
produces more, that of the fir is better; for that, 
though that of the silver-fir is abundant’ smooth and 
close, that of the fir, though scanty, is compacter 
stronger and fairer in general. The Arcadians then 
appear to differ as to the names which they give. 
Such are the differences in the silver-fir as com- 
pared with the fir, and there is also that of having 
the amphauzis,® which we mentioned before. 


Of beech, yew, hop-hornbeam, lime. 


X. The beech presents no differences, there being 
but one kind. It is a straight-growing smooth and 
unbranched tree, and in thickness and height is 
about equal to the silver-fir, which it also resembles 
in other respects ; the wood is of a fair colour strong 
and of good grain, the bark smooth and thick, the 
leaf undivided, longer than a pear-leaf, spinous at the 
tip,’ the roots neither numerous nor running deep; 
the fruit is smooth like an acorn, enclosed in a shell, 


5 πολλὴν conj. Gesner ; οὔλην UmBas.; ὅλην MV Ald. 
Sefcios ious 
7 4,e. mucronate. ef. 3. 11. 3. 


221 


THEOPHRASTUS 


πλὴν [ove] ἀνακάνθῳ Kal λείῳ, Kal οὐχ ὡς ἡ 
διοσβάλανος ἀκανθώδει, προσεμφερὴς δὲ καὶ 
κατὰ γλυκύτητα καὶ κατὰ τὸν χυλὸν ἐκείνῳ. 
γίνεται δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ ὄρει λευκή, ἣ καὶ χρήσιμον 
ἔχει τὸ ξύλον πρὸς πολλά: καὶ γὰρ πρὸς ἁμαξἕ- 
ουργίαν καὶ πρὸς κλινοπηγίαν καὶ εἰς διφρουρ- 
γίαν καὶ εἰς τραπεζίαν καὶ εἰς ναυπηγίαν' ἡ δ᾽ ἐν 
τοῖς πεδίοις μέλαινα καὶ ἄχρηστος πρὸς TavTa: 
τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ἔχουσι παραπλήσιον. 

Μονογενὴς δὲ καὶ ἡ μίλος, ὀρθοφυὴς δὲ καὶ 
εὐαυξὴς καὶ ὁμοία τῇ ἐλάτῃ, πλὴν οὐχ ὑψηλὸν 
οὕτω, πολυμάσχαλον δὲ μᾶλλον. ὅμοιον δὲ καὶ 
τὸ φύλλον ἔχει τῇ ἐλάτῃ, λιπαρώτερον δὲ καὶ 
μαλακώτερον. τὸ δὲ ξύλον ἡ μὲν ἐξ ᾿Αρκαδίας 
μέλαν καὶ φοινικοῦν, ἡ δ᾽ ἐκ τῆς Ἴδης ξανθὸν 
σφόδρα καὶ ὅμοιον τῇ κέδρῳ, δι’ ὃ καὶ τοὺς πω- 
λοῦντάς φασιν ἐξαπατᾶν ὡς ,κέδρον πωλοῦντας" 
πᾶν γὰρ εἶναι καρδίαν, ὃ ὅταν ὁ φλοιὸς περιαιρεθῇ' 
ὅμοιον. δὲ καὶ τὸν φλοιὸν ἐ ἔχειν καὶ τῇ τραχύτητι 
καὶ τῷ χρώματι τῇ κέδρῳ, ῥίξας δὲ μικρὰς καὶ 
λεπτὰς καὶ ἐπιπολαίους. σπάνιον δὲ τὸ δένδρον 
περὶ τὴν Ἴδην, περὶ δὲ Μακεδονίαν καὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν 
πολύ: καὶ καρπὸν φέρει στρογγύλον μικρῷ μείξω 
κυάμου, τῷ χρώματι ἐρυ ρὸν καὶ μαλακόν' 
φασὶ δὲ τὰ μὲν λόφουρα ἐὰν φάγῃ τῶν φύλλων 
ἀποθνήσκειν, τὰ δὲ μηρυκάζοντα οὐδὲν πάσχειν. 
τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ἐσθίουσι καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τινὲς 
καὶ ἔστιν ἡδὺς καὶ ἀσινής. 


1 ἐχῖνος being otherwise used of a prickly case, such as 
that of the chestnut. πλὴν ἄνακ. καὶ λείῳ conj. W.; πλὴν 
οὐκ ἀνακάνθωι Kal λείωι U3 πλὴν οὐκ ἐν ἀκάνθῳ MV AId. 


222 


ENQUIRY- INTO PLANTS, lL. x. 1-2 


which is however without prickles! and smooth, not 
spinous,” like the chestnut, though in sweetness and 
flavour it resembles it. In mountain country it also 
grows white and has* timber which is useful for 
many purposes, for making carts beds chairs and 
tables, and for shipbuilding‘; while the tree of the 
plains is black and useless for these purposes ; but 
the fruit is much the same in both. 

5 The yew has also but one kind, is straight- 
growing, grows readily, and is like the silver-fir, 
except that it is not so tall and is more branched. 
Its leaf is also like that of the silver-fir, but glossier 
and less stiff. As to the wood, in the Arcadian yew 
it is black or red, in that of Ida bright yellow and 
like prickly cedar ; wherefore they say that dealers 
practise deceit, selling it for that wood: for that it is 
all heart, when the bark is stripped off; its bark also 
resembles that of prickly cedar in roughness and 
colour, its roots are few slender and shallow. The 
tree is rare about Ida, but common in Macedonia and 
Arcadia; it bears a round fruit a little larger than a 
bean, which is red in colour and soft; and they say 
that, if beasts of burden ® eat of the leaves they die, 
while ruminants take no hurt. Even men sometimes 
eat the fruit, which is sweet and harmless. 


2 ἀκανθώδει conj. R. Const.; ἀκανθώδη Ald. H. 

3 λευκὴ ἣ καὶ conj. W.; λευκή τε καὶ Ald. H. 

ἈΠ 5. θ. 41. δ. 71 9 8π 6: 

> Plin. 16. 62. (description taken from this passage, but 
applied to fraxinus, apparently from confusion between 
ufAos and μελία). 

δ. ἡ. 4 τ 


223 


3 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἡ ὄστρυς “μονοειδής, ἣν καλοῦσί 
τινες ὀστρύαν, ὁμοφυὲς τῇ ὀξύᾳ τῇ τε ᾿φυτείᾳ καὶ 
τῷ φλοιῷ' φύλλα δὲ ἀπιοειδῆ τῷ σχήματι, πλὴν 
προμηκέστερα πολλῷ καὶ εἰς ὀξὺ συνηγμένα καὶ 
μείζω, πολύϊνα δέ, ἀπὸ τῆς μέσης εὐθείας καὶ 
μεγάλης τῶν ἄλλων πλευροειδῶς κατατεινουσῶν 
καὶ πάχος ἐχουσῶν" ἔτι δὲ ἐρρυτιδωμένα κατὰ 
τὰς ἶνας καὶ χαραγμὸν ἔχοντα κύκλῳ λεπτόν" τὸ 
δὲ ξύλον σκληρὸν καὶ _axpour, *eNEUKOU: καρπὸν 
δὲ μικρὸν πρόμακρον ὅμοιον κριθῇ ξανθόν: ῥίξας 
δὲ ἔχει μετεώρους" ἔνυδρον δὲ καὶ φαραγγῶδες. 
λέγεται δὲ ὡς οὐκ ἐπιτήδειον εἰς οἰκίαν εἰσφέ- 
pew: δυσθανατεῖν γάρ φασι καὶ δυστοκεῖν οὗ 
x 2 
ἂν ἡ. 

Τῆς δὲ φιλύρας ἡ μὲν ἄρρην ἐστὶ ἡ δὲ θήλεια" 
διαφέ έρουσι ὃ δὲ τῇ μορφῇ τῇ ὅλῃ καὶ τῇ τοῦ ξύλου καὶ 
τῷ τὸ μὲν. εἶναι κάρπιμον τὸ δ᾽ ἄκαρπον. τὸ μὲν 
γὰρ τῆς ἄρρενος ξύλον σκληρὸν καὶ ξανθὸν καὶ 
ὀξωδέστερον καὶ “πυκνότερόν ἐστι, ἔτι δ᾽ εὐωδέ- 
στερον, τὸ δὲ τῆς θηλείας λευκότερον. καὶ ὁ 
φλοιὸς τῆς μὲν ἄρρενος παχύτερος καὶ περιαιρεθεὶς 
ἀκαμπὴς διὰ τὴν σκληρότητα, τῆς δὲ θηλείας λεπ- 
τότερος καὶ εὐκαμπής, ἐξ οὗ τὰς κίστας ποιοῦσιν" 
καὶ ἡ μὲν ἄκαρπος καὶ ἀνανθής, ἡ δὲ θήλεια 
καὶ ἄνθος ἔχει. καὶ καρπόν" τὸ μὲν ἄνθος καλυ- 
κῶδες παρὰ τὸν τοῦ φύλλου μίσχον καὶ παρὰ 


1 cf. 1. 8. 2 (ὀστρυίς), 3. 3.1; C.P. 5. 12. 9 (ὀστρύη) ; Plin. 
Sy Liv: 

2 wéons... κατατεινουσῶν conj. Sch.; μέσης πλευροειδῶς 
τῶν ἄλλων εὐθειῶν καὶ μεγάλην κατατεινουσῶν Ald. cf. 1.10.2; 
3.17.3 


224 


ENQUIRY “INTO “PLANTS, IIT. x. 3-4 


The ostrys (hop-hornbeam),! which some call 
ostrya, has also but one kind: it is like the beech in 
growth and bark ; its leaves are in shape like a pear’s, 
except that they are much longer, come to a sharp 
point, are larger, and have many fibres, which branch 
out like ribs from a large straight one? in the 
middle, and are thick; also the leaves are wrinkled 
along the fibres and have a finely serrated edge ; the 
wood is hard veolourless and whitish; the fruit is 
small oblong and yellow like barley; it has shallow 
roots; it loves water and is found in ravines. It is 
said to be unlucky to bring it into the house, since, 
wherever it is, it is supposed to cause a painful 
death ® or painful labour in giving birth. 

4The lime has both ‘male’ and ‘ female’ forms, 
which differ in their general appearance, in that ot 
the wood, and in being respectively fruit-bearing 
and sterile. The wood of the ‘male’ tree is hard 
yellow more branched closer, and also more fragrant ὃ ; 
that of the ‘female’ is whiter. The bark of the 
‘male’ is thicker, and, when stripped off, is un- 
bending because of its hardness ; that of the ‘female’ 
is thinner® and flexible; men make their writing- 
cases‘ out of it. The ‘male’ has neither fruit nor 
flower, but the ‘female’ has both flower and fruit ; 
the flower is cup-shaped, and appears alongside 
of the stalk of the leaf, or alongside of next year’s 


3 δυσθανατεῖν I conj. ; δυσθάνατον P,Ald.; δυσθανατᾶν conj. 
Sch., but δυσθανατᾶν has a desiderative sense. 

4 Plin. 16. 65. 

5 ἔτι δ᾽ evwd. inserted here by Sch.; cf. Plin., U.c. In Ald. 
the words, with the addition τὸ τῆς θηλείας, occur after 
ποιοῦσιν. 

6 χεπτότερος conj. Sch ; λευκότερος Ald, 

Τ αἵ. 8.13.1; Ατ. Vesp. δ29. 


2215 


THEOPHRASTUS 


‘ / a ee 
τὴν εἰς νέωτα κάχρυν ἐφ᾽ ἑτέρου μίσχου, χλοερὸν 
δὲ ὅταν ἡ καλυκῶδες, ἐκκαλυπτόμενον δὲ ἐπίξαν- 
θον: ἡ δὲ ἄνθησις ἅμα τοῖς ἡμέροις. ὁ δὲ καρπὸς 
, ’ὔ 4 a 
στρογγύλος πρόμακρος ἡλίκος κύαμος ὅμοιος TH 
lal -“ ‘4 e ἊΝ a 
τοῦ KLTTOV, γωνίας ἔχων ὁ ἁδρὸς πέντε οἷον ἰνῶν 
lal / e 
ἐξεχουσῶν καὶ εἰς ὀξὺ συναγομένων: ὁ δὲ μὴ 
[2 \ Ψ , , \ id ta \ 
adpos ἀδιαρθρότερος: διακνιζόμενος δὲ ὁ adpos 
ἔχει μίκρ᾽ ἄττα καὶ λεπτὰ σπερμάτια ἡλίκα καὶ 
a Ἂς « 
ὁ τῆς ἀδραφάξυος. τὸ δὲ φύλλον καὶ ὁ φλοιὸς 
«ς / A / \ \ \ a \ 
ἡδέα καὶ γλυκέα: τὴν δὲ μορφὴν κιττῶδες TO 
7 \ > a a e 
φύλλον, πλὴν ἐκ προσαγωγῆς μᾶλλον ἡ περι- 
x \ \ a , / 
φέρεια, KATA TO πρὸς τῷ μίσχῳ κυρτότατον, 
, 
ἀλλὰ κατὰ μέσον εἰς ὀξύτερον τὴν συναγωγὴν 
ἔχον καὶ μακρότερον, ἔπουλον δὲ κύκλῳ καὶ κεχα- 
peeks \ LS > 
ραγμένον. μήτραν δ᾽ ἔχει τὸ ξύλον μικρὰν καὶ ov 
/ a \ \ \ 
πολὺ μαλακωτέραν τοῦ ἄλλου: μαλακὸν yap καὶ 
τὸ ἄλλο ξύλον. 
ΧΙ. Τῆς δὲ σφενδάμνου, καθάπερ εἴπομεν, δύο 
ar e \ ’ \ lal a 
γένη ποιοῦσιν, ot δὲ τρία' ἕν μὲν δὴ τῷ κοινῷ 
προσαγορεύουσι σφένδαμνον, ἕτερον δὲ ζυγίαν, 
/ ig 
τρίτον δὲ κλινότροχον, WS οἱ περὶ Στάγειρα. δια- 
“- / fel 
φορὰ δ᾽ ἐστὶ τῆς Cuyias καὶ τῆς σφενδάμνου ὅτι 
« Ν / \ ” \ / Ν 
ἡ μὲν σφένδαμνος λευκὸν ἔχει τὸ ξύλον καὶ 
> / ς Ν ’, \ \ Ss Ν \ 
εὐινότερον, ἡ δὲ ζυγία ξανθὸν καὶ οὗλον: τὸ δὲ 
φύλλον εὐμέγεθες ἄμφω, τῇ σχίσει ὅμοιον τῷ 
ΜΕΎ ΟΣ TD AX es ‘ 





1 of. 3. 5. 5. and 6. 

2 διακνιζόμενος : διασχιζόμενος, ‘when split open,’ conj. W. 
* ef: 1. 129,45) CFE 919} 81,12 

δ προσαγορεύουσι conj. W. from (ἃ ; προσαγορεύεται Ald, 


226 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. x. 4q—-x1.1 


winter-bud! on a separate stalk; it is green, when 
in the cup-like stage, but brownish as it opens; it 
appears at the same time as in the cultivated trees. 
The fruit is rounded oblong as large as a bean, 
resembling the fruit of the ivy; when mature, it 
has five angular projections, as it were, made by 
projecting fibres which meet in a point; the im- 
mature fruit is less articulated. When the mature 
fruit is pulled to pieces,’ it shows some small fine 
seeds of the same size as those of orach. The leaf and 
the bark 38 are well flavoured and sweet; the leaf is 
like that of the ivy in shape, except that it rounds 
more gradually, being most curved at the part next 
the stalk, but in the middle contracting to a sharper 
and longer apex, and its edge is somewhat puckered 
and jagged. The timber contains little core, which 
is not much softer than the other part; for the rest 
of the wood is also soft. 


Of maple and ash. 


XI. Of the maple, as we have said,‘ some make ὃ 
two kinds, some three; one they call by the general 
name ‘maple,’ another zygza, the third klinotrokhos® ; 
this name, for instance, is used by the people of 
Stagira. The difference between zygia and maple 
proper is that the latter has white wood of finer 
fibre, while that of zygza is yellow and of compact 
texture. The leaf’ in both trees is large, resem- 
bling that of the plane in the way in which it is 


6 κλινότροχον Ald.; κλινόστροχον U; ἰνότροχον conj. Salm, 
from Plin. 16. 66 and 67, cursivenium or crassivenium. Sch. 
thinks that the word conceals γλῖνος ; cf. 3. 8.1; 3. 11. 2. 

7 φύλλον conj. R. Const.; ξύλον UMVAId.H.G. 


227 


THEOPHRASTUS 


THS πλατάνου τετανὸν λεπτότερον δὲ καὶ ἀσαρκό- 
τερον καὶ μαλακώτερον καὶ προμηκέστερον' τὰ δὲ 
σχίσμαθ᾽ ὅλα 7 εἰς ὀξὺ συνήκοντα καὶ οὐχ οὕτω 
μεσοσχιδῆ ἀλλ᾽ ἀκροσχιδέστερα" οὐ πολύϊνα δὲ 
ὡς κατὰ μέγεθος. ἔχει δὲ καὶ φλοιὸν μικρῷ 
τραχύτερον τοῦ τῆς φιλύρας, ὑποπέλιον παχὺν καὶ 
πυκνότερον ἢ ὁ τῆς πίτυος καὶ ἀκαμπῆ: ῥίζαι δ᾽ 
ὀλίγαι καὶ μετέωροι καὶ οὖλαι σχεδὸν αἱ πλεῖσται 
καὶ αἱ τῆς ξανθῆς καὶ αἱ τῆς λευκῆς. γίνεται δὲ 
μάλιστα ἐν τοῖς ἐφύδροις, ὡς οἱ περὶ THY“ Idnv λέ- 
γουσι, καὶ ἔστι σπάνιον. περὶ ἄνθους δὲ οὐκ ἤδεσαν'" 
τὸν δὲ καρπὸν οὐ λίαν μὲν προμήκη, παρόμοιον δὲ 
τῷ παλιούρῳ πλὴν προμηκέστερον. οἱ δ᾽ ἐν τῷ 
Ὀλύμπῳ τὴν μὲν ξυγίαν ὄρειον μᾶλλον, τὴν δὲ 
σφένδαμνον καὶ ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις φύεσθαι: εἶναι δὲ 
τὴν μὲν ἐν τῷ ὄρει φυομένην ξανθὴν καὶ εὔχρουν 
καὶ οὔλην καὶ στερεών, 7 καὶ πρὸς τὰ πολυτελῆ 
τῶν ἔργων χρῶνται, τὴν δὲ πεδεινὴν λευκήν τε 
καὶ μανοτέραν καὶ ἧττον οὔλην" καλοῦσι δ᾽ αὐτὴν 
ἔνιοι γλεῖνον, οὐ σφένδαμνον. ... καὶ τῆς ἄρρενος 
οὐλότερα τὰ ξύλα συνεστραμμένα, καὶ ἐν τῷ 
πεδίῳ ταύτην φύεσθαι μᾶλλον καὶ βλαστάνειν 
πρωΐτερον. 

Ἔστι δὲ καὶ μελιας γένη δυο. τούτων δ᾽ ἡ 
μὲν ὑψηλὴ καὶ εὐμήκης ἐστὶ τὸ ξύλον “ἔχουσα 
λευκὸν καὶ εὔινον καὶ μαλακώτερον καὶ ἀνοζό- 


1 reravov: of. 3. 12. 5; 3. 15. 6. 

2 σχίσμαθ᾽ conj. R. Const. from G; σχίμαθ᾽ Ald.Cam.; 
σχήμαθ᾽ Bas., which W. reads. 

3 ὅλα: ὅλως. 

4 6. do not run back so far. 

5 πολύϊνα conj. R. Const.; πολύ" iva δὲ Ald.; modu: ἵνα δὲ M. 


228 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IIL. x1. 1-3 


divided ; it is smooth,! but more delicate, less fleshy, 
softer, longer in proportion to its breadth, and the 
divisions? all? tend to meet in a point, while they 
do not occur so much in the middle of the leaf,‘ 
but rather at the tip; and for their size the leaves 
have not many fibres.5 The bark too is somewhat 
rougher than that of the lime, of blackish colour 
thick closer ® than that of the Aleppo pine,and stiff; 
the roots are few shallow and compact for the most 
part, both those of the yellow and those of the white- 
wooded tree. This tree occurs chiefly in wet ground,’ 
as the people of Mount Ida say, and is rare. About 
its flower they did § not know, but the fruit, they said, 
is not very oblong, but like that of Christ’s thorn,’ 
except that it is more oblong than that. But the 
people of Mount Olympus say that, while zygia is 
rather a mountain tree, the maple proper grows also 
in the plains; and that the form which grows in the 
mountains has yellow wood of a bright colour, which 
is of compact texture and hard, and is used even for 
expensive work, while that of the plains has white 
wood of looser make and less compact texture. And 
some call it gleznos!° instead of maple. ... . τ Ἴδης 
wood of the ‘male’ tree is of compacter texture and 
twisted; this tree, it is said, grows rather in the 
plain and puts forth its leaves earlier. 

12 There are also two kinds of ash. Of these one is 
lofty and of strong growth with white wood of good 
fibre, softer, with less knots, and of more compact 

5 πυκνότερον conj. Scal. from G ; πυρώτερον UAId. 

7 ἐφύδροις : ὑφύδροις conj. Sch. cf. ὕφαμμος, ὑπόπετρος. 

Sief.'3) 900 ne; ante, prxx. 9 of 3.18.3. 

hts ew om 1: el bye dative 
ἢ W. marks a lacuna: the description of the ‘ female’ 
tree seems to be missing. 2 Plin. 16, 62-64. 


229 


THEOPHRASTUS 


τερον Kal οὐλότερον" ἡ δὲ ταπεινοτέρα καὶ ἧττον 
εὐαυξὴς καὶ τραχυτέρα καὶ σκληροτέρα καὶ Eav- 
θοτέρα. τὰ δὲ φύλλα τῷ μὲν σχήματι δαφνοειδῆ, 
πλατυφύλλου δάφνης, εἰς ὀξύτερον δὲ συνηγμένα, 
χαραγμὸν δέ τιν᾽ ἔχοντα, κύκλῳ καὶ ἐπακανθί- 
ζοντα" τὸ δὲ ὅλον, ὅπερ εἴποι τις ἂν φύλλον τῷ 
ἅμα φυλλορροεῖν, ἀφ᾽ ἑνὸς μίσχου' καὶ περὶ 
μίαν οἷον iva κατὰ γόνυ καὶ συζυγίαν τὰ φύλλα 
καθ᾽ ἕκαστον πέφυκε, συχνῶν διεχουσῶν τῶν 
συζυγιῶν, ὁμοίως καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς οἴης. ἔστι δὲ τῶν 
μὲν βραχέα τὰ γόνατα καὶ αἱ συζυγίαι τὸ πλῆθος 
ἐλάττους, τῶν δὲ τῆς λευκῆς καὶ μακρὰ καὶ 
πλείους: καὶ τὰ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον φύλλα μακρότερα 
καὶ στενότερα, τὴν δὲ χρόαν πρασώδη. φλοιὸν 
δὲ λεῖον ἔχει, καπυρὸν δὲ καὶ λεπτὸν καὶ τῇ 
χρόᾳ πυρρόν. πυκνόρριξον δὲ καὶ παχύρριξον 
καὶ μετέωρον. καρπὸν δὲ οἱ μὲν περὶ τὴν δὴν 
οὐχ ὑπελάμβανον ἔχειν οὐδ᾽ ἄνθος" ἔχει δ᾽ ἐν 
a fal \ \ e fal > 

ΕΣ ὧν καρπὸν καρυηρὸν ὡς τῶν ἀμυγδα- 

pov τῇ γεύσει. φέρει δὲ καὶ ἕτερ 
ἄττα οἷον βρύα, καθάπερ ἡ δάφνη, πλὴν στιφρό- 
tepa’ καὶ ἕκαστον καθ᾽ αὑτὸ σφαιροειδές, ὥσπερ 
τὰ τῶν πλατάνων" τούτων δὲ τὰ μὲν περὶ τὸν 
καρπόν, τὰ δ᾽ ἀπηρτημένα πολύ, καὶ τὰ πλεῖστα 
οὕτω. φύεται δὲ ἡ μὲν λεία περὶ τὰ βαθυάγκη 
μάλιστα καὶ ἔφυδρα, ἡ δὲ τραχεῖα καὶ περὶ τὰ ξηρὰ 
καὶ πετρώδη. ἔνιοι δὲ καλοῦσι τὴν μὲν μελίαν 





1 οὐλότερον : ἀνουλότερον W. from Sch.’s conj.; ἄνουλος 
does not occur elsewhere, and T. uses μανός as the opposite 


of οὖλος. 
2 χ 6. instead of considering the leaflet as the unit. For 


the description cf. 3. 12. 5; 3. 15, 4. 
230 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. x1. 3-4 


texture! ; the other is shorter, less vigorous in growth, 
rougher harder and yellower. The leaves in shape 
are like those of the bay, that is, the broad-leaved 
bay, but they contract to a sharper point, and they 
have a sort of jagged outline with sharp points. 
The whole leaf (if one may consider this as? a ‘leaf’ 
because it is all shed at once) grows on a single 
stalk; on either side of a single fibre, as it were, 
the leaflets grow at a joint in pairs, which are 
numerous and distinct, just as in the sorb. In some 
leaves the joints are short? and the pairs fewer in 
number, but in those of the white kind the joint is 
long and the pairs more numerous, while the leaflets 
are longer narrower and leek-green in colour. Also 
this tree has a smooth bark, which is dry thin and 
red in colour. The roots are matted stout and 
shallow.* As to the fruit, the people of Ida supposed 
it to have none, and no flower either; however it 
lias a nut-like fruit in a thin pod, like the fruit of 
the almond, and it is somewhat bitter in taste. And 
it also bears certain other things like winter-buds, 
as does the bay, but they are more solid,’ and each 
separate one is globular, like those of the plane; 
some of these occur around the fruit, some, in fact 
the greater number,$ are at a distance from it. The 
smooth kind? grows mostly in deep ravines and damp 
places, the rough kind occurs also in dry and rocky 
parts. Some, for instance the Macedonians, call the 


δ βραχέα conj. Scal. from G; τραχέα UAId.H. 

4 Bod. inserts οὐ before μετέωρον ; cf. 3. 6. 5. (Idaean 
account. ) 

> στιφρότερα conj. Dalec.; στρυφνότερα MSS. 

5 πλεῖστα conj. R, Const.; πλεκτὰ UMVAId. 

“of. Plini foe 


221 


THEOPHRASTUS 


τὴν δὲ βουμέλιον, ὥσπερ ot περὶ Μακεδονίαν. 
ac \ \ , ε , 5 Ὰ \ 
μεῖζον δὲ καὶ μανότερον ἡ βουμέλιος, du ὃ καὶ 
χὰ 9 / \ Ν \ ϑ, Ν / 
ἧττον οὗλον. φύσει δὲ TO μὲν πεδεινὸν καὶ τραχύ, 
Ν > 2 XN \ cal 4 δὲ ¢ \ > “a 
τὸ δ᾽ ὀρεινὸν καὶ λεῖον: ἔστε δὲ ἡ μὲν ἐν τοῖς 
5) \ 
ὄρεσι φυομένη εὔχρους καὶ λεία καὶ στερεὰ καὶ 
n \ 
γλίσχρα, ἡ δ᾽ ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ ἄχρους Kal μανὴ καὶ 
- \ > ξ > a \ / “ 
τραχεῖα. (τὸ δ᾽ ὅλον ὡς εἰπεῖν τὰ δένδρα ὅσα 
καὶ ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ καὶ ἐν τῷ ὄρει φύεται, τὰ μὲν 
>? \ ” / ῃ Ν 7 Νὰ \ lal / 
ὀρεινὰ εὔχροά τε Kal στερεὰ καὶ λεῖα γίνεται, 
καθάπερ ὀξύη πτελέα τὰ ἄλλα: τὰ δὲ πεδεινὰ 
, δὰ 
μανότερα καὶ ἀχρούστερα καὶ χείρω, πλὴν ἀπίου 
\ / Sy ae / ¢e ec \ \ Μ ΄ 
καὶ μηλέας καὶ ἀχράδος, ὡς οἱ περὶ τὸν ᾽Ολυμπόν 
φασι: ταῦτα δ᾽ ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ κρείττω καὶ τῷ 
καρπῷ καὶ τοῖς ξύλοις" ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῷ ὄρει 
lal 5 / ΟΣ. , 3 ES 2 \ a 
τραχεῖς Kal ἀκανθώδεις καὶ ὀζώδεις εἰσίν, ἐν δὲ TO 
if N 
πεδίῳ λειότεροι Kal μείζους καὶ TOV καρπὸν ἔχουσι 
7 / 4 > 
γλυκύτερον Kal σαρκωδέστερον' μεγέθει δὲ αἰεὶ 
μείζω τὰ πεδεινά.) 
, \ Ν A 
XII. Kpaveias δὲ τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν τὸ δὲ θῆλυ, 
ἃ \ \ / a »” Ν 
ἣν δὴ καὶ θηλυκρανείαν καλοῦσιν. ἔχουσι δὲ 
φύλλον μὲν ἀμυγδαλῇ ὅμοιον, πλὴν λιπωδέστερον 
\ ’ὔ Ν 2 ᾽ ’ , Ν Ν 
καὶ παχύτερον, φλοιὸν δ᾽ ἰνώδη λεπτόν' τὸ δὲ 
/ 
στέλεχος ov παχὺ λίαν, ἀλλὰ παραφύει ῥάβδους 
“ ” 2 4 \ e / \ 
ὥσπερ ἄγνος: ἐλάττους δὲ ἡ OnduKpaveia καὶ 
A 5 
θαμνωδέστερόν ἐστιν. τοὺς δὲ ὄξους ὁμοίως 
a \ 
ἔχουσιν ἄμφω τῇ ἄγνῳ καὶ κατὰ δύο Kal κατ᾽ 





1 cf. Plin., l.c., and Index. 
2 μεῖζον δὲ καὶ μανότερον conj. W. from G ; μ. δὲ καὶ μανότερα 
MVU (? μανότερον) ; μείζων δὲ καὶ μακροτέρα Ald. Η, 


232 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. x1. 4-xu 1 


one ‘ash’ (manna-ash), the other ‘horse-ash?’ (ash, 
The ‘horse-ash’ is a larger and more spreading” 
tree, wherefore it is of less compact appearance. 
It is naturally a tree of the plains and rough, while 
the other belongs to the mountains and is smooth ὅ; 
the one which grows on the mountains is fair-coloured 
smooth hard and stunted, while that of the plains is 
colourless spreading and rough. (In general one 
may say of trees that grow in the plain and on the 
mountain respectively, that the latter are of fair 
colour hard and smooth,* as beech elm and the 
rest; while those of the plain are more spreading, 
of less good colour and inferior, except the pear 
apple ® and wild pear, according to the people of 
Mount Olympus. These when they grow in the 
plain are better both in fruit and in wood; for on 
the mountain they are rough spinous and much 
branched, in the plain smoother larger and with 
sweeter and fleshier fruit. However the trees of the 
plain are always of larger size.) 


Of cornelian cherry, cornel, ‘cedars,’ medlar, thorns, sorb. 
> ᾽ 3 > > 


XII. Of the cornelian cherry there is a‘ male’ and 
a ‘female’ kind (cornel), and the latter bears a corre- 
sponding name. Both have a leaf like that of the 
almond, but oilier and thicker ; the bark is fibrous and 
thin, the stem is not very thick, but it puts out side- 
branches like the chaste-tree, those of the ‘female’ 
tree, which is more shrubby, being fewer. Both 
kinds have branches like those of the chaste-tree, 


3 καὶ tpaxd... λεῖον conj. Sch.; καὶ λεῖον .. . τραχὺ Ald. 
4 χεῖα conj. Mold.; λευκὰ Ald.G. 
® μηλέας conj. Scal., cf. ὃ. 3.2; μελίας UMAId.H. 


235 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἀλλήλους: το δὲ ξύλον TO μὲν τῆς κρανείας 
ἀκάρδιον καὶ στερεὸν ὅλον, ὅμοιον κέρατι τὴν 
πυκνότητα καὶ τὴν ἰσχύν, τὸ δὲ τῆς θηλυκρανείας 
ἐντεριώνην ἔχον καὶ μαλακώτερον καὶ κοιλαινό- 
μενον" δι’ ὃ καὶ ἀχρεῖον εἰς τὰ ἀκόντια. τὸ δ᾽ 
ὕψος τοῦ ἄρρενος δώδεκα μάλιστα πηχέων, ἡλίκη 
τῶν σαρισσῶν ἡ μεγίστη" τὸ γὰρ ὅλον στέλεχος 
ὕψος οὐκ ἴσχει. φασὶ δ᾽ οἱ μὲν ἐν τῇ Ἴδῃ τῇ Τρωάδι 
τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν ἄκαρπον. εἶναι τὸ δὲ θῆλυ κάρπιμον. 
πυρῆνα δ᾽ ὁ καρπὸς ἔχει παραπλήσιον ἐλάᾳ, καὶ 
ἐσθιόμενος γλυκὺς καὶ εὐώδης: ἄνθος δὲ ὅμοιον 
τῷ τῆς ἐλάας, καὶ ἀπανθεῖ δὲ καὶ καρποφορεῖ 
τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τῷ ἐξ ἑνὸς μίσχου πλείους 
ἔχειν, σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ τοῖς χρόνοις παραπλησίως. 
οἱ δ᾽ ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ καρποφορεῖν μὲν ἄμφω φασὶν 
τὸν δὲ τῆς θηλείας ἄβρωτον εἶναι: τὰς ῥίζας δ᾽ 
ὁμοίας ἔχει ταῖς ἄγνοις ἰσχυρὰς καὶ ἀνωλέθρους. 
γίνεται δὲ καὶ περὶ τὰ ἔφυδρα καὶ οὐκ ἐν τοῖς 
ξηροῖς μόνον: φύεται δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ σπέρματος καὶ 
ἀπὸ παρασπάδος. 

Κέδρον δὲ οἱ μέν φασιν εἶναι διττήν, τὴν μὲν 
Λυκίαν τὴν δὲ Φοινικῆν, οἱ δὲ ᾿μονοειδῆ, καθάπερ 
οἱ ἐν τῇ 15n. παρόμοιον δὲ τῇ ἀρκεύθῳ, διαφέρει 
δὲ μάλιστα τῷ φύλλῳ' τὸ μὲν γὰρ τῆς κέδρου 
σκληρὸν καὶ ὀξὺ καὶ ἀκανθῶδες, τὸ δὲ τῆς ἀρκεύθου 
μαλακώτερον' δοκεῖ δὲ καὶ ὑψηλοφυέστερον εἶναι 
ἡ ἄρκευθος" οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾽ ἔνιοί γε οὐ διαιροῦσι 


1 The Idaeans are evidently responsible for this statement. 
T. himself (3. 4. 3) says the fruit is inedible. 

2 But (1. 11. 4) only certain varieties of the olive are said 
to have this character: the next statement seems also incon- 
sistent with 3. 4. 8. Perhaps T. is still reproducing his 
Idaean authority. 


234 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III, xu. 1-3 


arranged in pairs opposite one another. The wovd 
of the ‘male’ tree has no heart, but is hard through- 
out, like horn in closeness and strength; whereas 
that of the ‘female’ tree has heart-wood and is softer 
and goes into holes; wherefore it is useless for 
javelins. The height of the ‘male’ tree is at most 
twelve cubits, the length of the longest Macedonian 
spear, the stem up to the point where it divides 
not being very tall. The people of Mount Ida 
in the Troad say that the ‘male’ tree is barren, 
but that the ‘female’ bears fruit. The fruit has a 
stone like an olive and is sweet to the taste and 
fragrant!; the flower is like that of the olive, and the 
tree produces its flowers and fruit in the same manner, 
inasmuch as it has several growing from one stalk,” 
and they are produced at almost the same time 
in both forms. However the people of Macedonia 
say that both trees bear fruit, though that of the 
‘female’ is uneatable, and the roots are like those of 
the chaste-tree, strong and indestructible. This tree 
grows in wet ground and not only? in dry places; 
and it comes from seed, and also can be propagated 
from a piece torn off. 

4 The ‘cedar,’ some say, has two forms, the Lycian 
and the Phoenician®; but some, as the people of 
Mount Ida, say that there is only one form. It 
resembles the arkeuthos (Phoenician cedar), differing 
chiefly in the leaf, that of ‘cedar’ being hard sharp 
and spinous, while that of arkeuthos is softer: the 
latter tree also seems to be of taller growth. How- 
ever some do not give them distinct names, but call 


3 μόνον ins. R. Const. from G. 
4 Plin. 13. 52. See Index κέδρος and ἄρκευθος. 
δ Φοινικῆν : Φοινικικὴν con]. W. cf. 9. 2.3; Plin. lc. 


235 


THEOPHRASTUS 


τοῖς ὀνόμασιν ἀλλ᾽ ἄμφω καλοῦσι κέδρους, πλὴν 
παρασήμως τὴν κέδρον ὀξύκεδρον. ὀξώδη δ᾽ 
ἄμφω καὶ πολυμάσχαλα καὶ ἐπεστραμμένα ἔχον- 
τα τὰ ξύλα: μήτραν δ᾽ ἡ μὲν ἄρκευθος ἔχει 
μικρὰν καὶ πυκνὴν καὶ ὅταν κοπῇ ταχὺ σηπο- 
μένην" ἡ δὲ κέδρος τὸ πλεῖστον ἐγκάρδιον καὶ 
ἀσαπές, ἐρυθροκάρδια δ᾽ ἄμφω: καὶ ἡ μὲν τῆς 
κέδρου εὐώδης ἡ δὲ τῆς ἑτέρας οὔ. καρπὸς δ᾽ 
ὁ μὲν τῆς κέδρου ξανθὸς μύρτου μέγεθος ἔχων 
εὐώδης ἡδὺς ἐσθίεσθαι. ὁ δὲ τῆς ἀρκεύθου τὰ 
μὲν ἄλλα ὅμοιος, μέλας δὲ καὶ στρυφνὸς καὶ 
ὥσπερ ἄβρωτος: διαμένει δ᾽ εἰς ἐνιαυτόν, εἶθ᾽ 
ὅταν ἄλλος ἐπιφυῇ ὁ περυσινὸς ἀποπίπτει. ὡς 
δὲ οἱ ἐν ᾿Αρκαδίᾳ λέγουσι, τρεῖς ἅμα καρποὺς 
ἴσχει, τόν τε περυσινὸν οὔπω πέπονα καὶ 
τὸν προπερύσινον ἤδη πέπονα καὶ ἐδώδιμον 
καὶ τρίτον τὸν νέον ὑποφαίνει. ἔφη δὲ Σάτυρος 
καὶ κομίσαι. τοὺς ὀρεοτύπους αὐτῷ ἀνανθεῖς ἄμφω. 
τὸν δὲ φλοιὸν ὅμοιον ἔχει κυπαρίττῳ τραχύτερον 
δέ: ῥίζας δὲ μανὰς ἀμφότεραι καὶ ἐπιπολαίους. 
φύονται περὶ τὰ πετρώδη καὶ χειμέρια καὶ τούτους 
τοὺς τόπους ζητοῦσι. 

Μεσπίλης δ᾽ ἐστὶ τρία γένη, ἀνθηδὼν σατά- 
VELOS ἀνθηδονοειδής, ὡς οἱ περὶ τὴν Ἴδην διαι- 
ροῦσι. φέρει δὲ ἡ μὲν σατάνειος τὸν καρπὸν 
μείξω καὶ λευκότερον καὶ χαυνότερον καὶ τοὺς 
πυρῆνας ἔχοντα μαλακωτέρους: αἱ δ᾽ ἕτεραι 


1 παρασήμως τὴν κέδρον U; π. τὸν κέδρον Μ; Ald. omits the 


article ; . παρασημασίᾳ κέδρου con}. W. 
* μήτραν conj. Sch.; μᾶλλον UMVAId. Plin., 16. 198, sup- 
ports μήτραν : he apparently read μήτραν δ᾽ ἡ μὲν “ἃ. ἔχει μᾶλλον 


236 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xu. 3-5 


them both ‘cedar,’ distinguishing them however as 
‘the cedar’! and ‘ prickly cedar.’ Both are branching 
trees with many joints and twisted wood. On the 
other hand arkeuthos has only a small amount of 
close core,? which, when the tree is cut, soon rots, 
while the trunk of ‘cedar’ consists mainly of heart 
and does not rot. The colour of the heart in each 
case is red: that of the ‘cedar’ is fragrant, but not 
that of the other. The fruit of ‘cedar’ is yellow, 
as large as the myrtle-berry, fragrant, and sweet 
to the taste. That of arkeuthos is like it in 
other respects, but black, of astringent taste and 
practically uneatable; it remains on the tree for a 
year, and then, when another grows, last year’s fruit 
falls off. According to the Arcadians it has three 
fruits on the tree at once, last year’s, which is not 
yet ripe, that of the year before last which is now 
ripe and eatable, and it also shews the new fruit. 
Satyrus® said that the wood-cutters gathered him 
specimens of both kinds which were flowerless. The 
bark 15 5 like that of the cypress but rougher. Both ὃ 
kinds have spreading shallow roots. These trees 
grow in rocky cold parts and seek out such districts. 

6 There are three kinds of mespile, anthedon 
(oriental thorn), sataneios (medlar) and anthedonoeides 
(hawthorn), as the people of mount Ida distinguish 
them. ‘The fruit of the medlar is larger paler 
more spongy and contains softer stones; in the other 


πυκνήν ; but the words καὶ ὅταν... σηπομένην (which P. does 
not render) seem inconsistent. ? ins. οὐ before ταχὺ Sch. 
3 2? An enquirer sent out by the Lyceum: see Intr. p. xxi. 
4 ἔχει conj. W.; ἐδόκει Ald. 
5 ἀμφότεραι conj. W.; ἀμφοτέρας U; ἀμφοτέρους Ald. H. 
6 Plin. 15. 84. 
ἴτε]: ΟἽ. 8. Ὁ; Ὁ. 14. 4} 6: 16:1. 


237 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἐλάττω τέ τι καὶ εὐωδέστερον καὶ στρυφνότερον : 
ὥστε δύνασθαι πλείω χρόνον θησαυρίξεσθαι. 
πυκνότερον δὲ καὶ τὸ ξύλον τούτων καὶ ξανθότερον, 
τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλα ὅμοιον. τὸ δ᾽ ἄνθος πασῶν ὅμοιον 
ἀμυγδαλῇ, πλὴν οὐκ ἐρυθρὸν ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνο ἀλλ᾽ 
ἐγχλωρότερον. ee + μεγέθει μέγα τὸ δένδρον 
καὶ περίκομον. φύλλον δὲ προ βἐνμέπ πράξιοςς Ἢ 
πολυσχιδὲς δὲ καὶ ἐν ἄκρῳ σελινοειδές, τὸ = 
ἐπὶ TOV παλαιοτέρων πολυσχιδὲς σφόδρα καὶ 
ἐγγωνοειδὲς μείξοσι σχίσμασι, τετανὸν ἰνῶδες 
λεπτότερον σελίνου καὶ προμηκέστερον καὶ τὸ 
ὅλον καὶ τὰ σχίσματα, περικεχαραγμένον δὲ 
ὅλον: μίσχον δ᾽ ἔχει λεπτὸν μακρόν: πρὸ τοῦ 
φυλλορροεῖν δ᾽ ἐρυθραίνεται σφόδρα. πολύρριξον 
δὲ τὸ δένδρον καὶ βαθύρριξον' δι’ ὃ καὶ χρόνιον 
καὶ δυσώλεθρον. καὶ τὸ ξύλον ἔχει πυκνὸν καὶ 
στερεὸν καὶ ἀσαπές. φύεται δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ σπέρ- 
ματος καὶ ἀπὸ παρασπάδος. νόσημα δὲ αὐτῶν 
ἐστιν ὥστε γηράσκοντα σκωληκόβρωτα γίνεσθαι" 
Kal οἱ σκώληκες μεγάλοι καὶ ἴδιοι ἢ οἱ ἐκ τῶν 
δένδρων τῶν ἄλλων. 

Τῶν δ᾽ οἰῶν δύο γένη ποιοῦσι, τὸ μὲν δὴ 
καρποφόρον θῆλυ τὸ δὲ ἄρρεν ἄκαρπον" οὐ μὴν 
ἀλλὰ διαφέρουσι τοῖς ,καρποῖς, τῷ τὰς μὲν 
στρογγύλον τὰς δὲ προμήκη τὰς δ᾽ ὠοειδῆ φέρειν. 
διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ τοῖς χυλοῖς" ὡς γὰρ ἐπὶ τὸ 





1 ἐλάττω τέ τι conj. W.; ἐλάττω εἰσὶ UAId. 

2 W. suggests that some words are missing here, as it does 
not appear to which kind of μεσπίλη the following descrip- 
tion belongs ; hence various difficulties. See Sch. 

4 Probably a lacuna in the text. W. thus supplies the 
sense: he suggests σικυοειδές for σελινοειδές. 


238 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xu. 5-6 


kinds it is somewhat smaller,! more fragrant and of 
more astringent taste, so that it can be stored for a 
longer time. The wood also of these kinds is closer 
and yellower, though in other respects it does not 
differ. The flower in all the kinds is like the almond 
flower, except that it is not pink, as that is, but 
PTECHISH tes ὁ οἷς 2. In stature the tree is large and it 
has thick foliage. The leaf in the young tree is 
round ® but much divided and like celery at the tip; 
but the leaf of older trees is very much divided and 
forms angles with larger divisions; it is smooth ‘ 
fibrous thinner and more oblong than the celery 
leaf, both as a whole and in its divisions, and it has 
a jagged edge all round.’ It has a long thin stalk, 
and the leaves turn bright red before they are shed. 
The tree has many roots, which run deep ; wherefore 
it lives a long time and is hard to kill. The wood 
is close and hard and does not rot. The tree grows 
from seed and also from a piece torn off. It is 
subject to a disease which causes it to become worm- 
eaten® in its old age, and the worms are large 
and different’ to those engendered by other trees. 

8Of the sorb they make two kinds, the ‘female’ 
which bears fruit and the ‘male’ which is barren. 
There are moreover differences in the fruit of the 
‘female’ kind; in some forms it is round, in others 
oblong and egg-shaped. There are also differences 

4 ceravov: ef. 3. 11. 1; 3. 15. 6. 

5 περικεχαραγμένον conj. Scal.; περικεθαρμένον U3 περικεκαρ- 
Herr inca cf. allusions to the leaf of μεσπίλη, 3. 13. 1; 

6 cf. 4. 14.10; Plin. 17. 221; Pall. 4. 10. 

7 ἴδιοι Ald. (for construction cf. Plat. Gorg. 481 0); ἰδίους 
UMV (the first « corrected in U). W. adopts Sch.’s conj., 


ἡδίους, in allusion to the edible cossus: ef. Plin. ἐ. 6. 
8 Plin. 15. 85. 


2590 


THEOPHRASTUS 


πᾶν εὐωδέστερα και γλυκύτερα τὰ στρογγύλα, 
τὰ δ᾽ ὠοειδῆ πολλάκις ἐστὶν ὀξέα καὶ ἧττον 
εὐώδη. φύλλα δ᾽ ἀμφοῖν. κατὰ μίσχον μακρὸν 
ἰνοειδῆ πεφύκασι “στοιχηδὸν ἐκ τῶν πλαγίων 
πτερυγοειδῶς, ὡς ἑνὸς ὄντος τοῦ ὅλου λοβοὺς δὲ 
ἔχοντος ἐσχισμένους ἕως τῆς ἰνός" πλὴν διεστᾶσιν 
ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν ὑπόσυχνον τὰ κατὰ μέρος" φυλλο- 
βολεῖ δὲ οὐ κατὰ μέρος ἀλλὰ ὅλον ἅμα τὸ 
πτερυγῶδες. εἰσὶ δὲ περὶ μὲν τὰ παλαιότερα 
καὶ μακρότερα πλείους αἱ συζυγίαι, περὶ δὲ τὰ 
νεώτερα καὶ βραχύτερα ἐλάττους, πάντων δὲ ἐ ἐπ᾽ 
ἄκρου τοῦ μίσχου φύλλον περιττόν, ὥστε καὶ 
πάντ᾽ εἶναι περιττά. τῷ δὲ σχήματι δαφνοειδῇ 
τῆς λεπτοφύλλου, πλὴν χαραγμὸν ἔχοντα καὶ 
βραχύτερα καὶ οὐκ εἰς ὀξὺ τὸ ἄκρον συνῆκον 
ἀλλ᾽ εἰς περιφερέστερον. ἄνθος δὲ ἔχει βοτρυ- 
ὥδες ἀπὸ μιᾶς κορύνης ἐκ πολλῶν μικρῶν καὶ 
λευκῶν συγκείμενον. καὶ ὁ ὁ καρπὸς ὅταν εὐκαρπῇ 
βοτρυώδης" πολλὰ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς κορύνης, 
ὥστ᾽ εἶναι καθάπερ κηρίον. σκωληκόβορος ἐπὶ 
τοῦ δένδρου ὁ καρπὸς ἄπεπτος ὧν ἔτι γίνεται 
μᾶλλον τῶν μεσπίλων καὶ ἀπίων καὶ ἀχράδων' 
καίτοι πολὺ στρυφνότατος. γίνεται δὲ καὶ αὐτὸ 
τὸ δένδρον σκωληκόβρωτον καὶ οὕτως αὐαινεται 
γηράσκον" καὶ ὁ σκώληξ ἴδιος ἐρυθρὸς δασύς. 
καρποφορεῖ δ᾽ ἐπιεικῶς νέα" τριετὴς γὰρ εὐθὺς 
φύει. τοῦ μετοπώρου δ᾽ ὅταν ἀποβάλῃ τὸ φύλλον, 
εὐθὺς ἴσχει τὴν καχρυώδη κορύνην λιπαρὰν καὶ 





1 φύλλα... στοιχηδὸν conj. W.; φύλλον δ᾽ ἀμφοῖν τὸ μὲν 
μίσχον μακρὸν ἰνοειδῆ: med. [δὲ] στοιχηδὸν UMVAId. 

2 ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν (=a7’ ἀλλήλων) conj. Scal.; ἀπ’ αὐτῶν U: 
W., who however renders inter se. 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. x1. 6-8 


in taste ; the round fruits are generally more fragrant 
and sweeter, the oval ones are often sour and less 
fragrant. The leaves in both grow attached to a 
long fibrous stalk, and project on each side in a row! 
like the feathers of a bird’s wing, the whole forming 
a single leaf but being divided into lobes with 
divisions which extend to the rib; but each pair are 
some distance apart,? and, when the leaves fall,’ 
these divisions do not drop separately, but the whole 
wing-like structure drops at once. When the 
leaves are older and longer, the pairs are more 
numerous; in the younger and shorter leaves they 
are fewer; but in all at the end of the leaf-stalk there 
is an extra leaflet, so that the total number of leaflets 
is an odd number. In form the leaflets resemble 4 
the leaves of the ‘fine-leaved’ bay, except that they 
are jagged and shorter and do not narrow to a sharp 
point but to a more rounded end. The flower ® is 
clustering and made up of a number of small white 
blossoms from a single knob. The fruit too is 
clustering, when the tree fruits well; for a number 
of fruits are formed from the same knob, giving an 
appearance like a honeycomb. The fruit gets eaten 
by worms on the tree before it is ripe to a greater 
extent than that of medlar pear or wild pear, and 
yet it is much more astringent than any of these. 
The tree itself also gets worm-eaten, and so withers 
away as it ages; and the worm ® which infests it is a 
peculiar one, red and hairy. This tree bears fruit 
when it is quite young, that is as soon as it is three 
years old. In autumn, when it has shed its leaves, 
it immediately produces its winter-bud-like knob,’ 


> Plin, 16.592: 4 For construction cf. 3. 11. 3. 
Σ ¢.e, inflorescence. ¢ Plin. 17. 221: CPST Ὁ: δ᾽ 


241 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἐπωδηκυῖαν ὡσὰν ἤδη βλαστικόν, καὶ διαμένει 
τὸν χειμῶνα. ἀνάκανθον δέ ἐστι καὶ ἡ οἴη καὶ 
ἡ μεσπίλη: φλοιὸν δ᾽ ἔχει λεῖον ὑπολίπαρον, 
ὅσαπερ μὴ γεράνδρυα, τὴν δὲ χρόαν ξανθὸν 
ἐπιλευκαίνοντα' τὰ δὲ γεράνδρυα τραχὺν. καὶ 
μέλανα. τὸ δὲ δένδρον εὐμέγεθες ὀρθοφυὲς 
εὔρυθμον τῇ Kop σχεδὸν yap ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ 
στροβιλοειδὲς σχῆμα λαμβάνει κατὰ τὴν κόμην, 
ἐὰν μή τι ἐμποδίσῃ. τὸ δὲ ξύλον στερεὸν πυκνὸν 
ἰσχυρὸν εὔχρουν, ῥίζας δὲ οὐ πολλὰς μὲν οὐδὲ 
κατὰ βάθους, ἰσχυρὰς δὲ καὶ παχείας καὶ ἀνω- 
λέθρους ἔχει. φύεται δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ ῥίξης καὶ ἀπὸ 
παρασπάδος καὶ ἀπὸ σπέρματος" τόπον δὲ ζητεῖ 
ψυχρὸν ἔνικμον, φιλόζωον δ᾽ ἐν τούτῳ καὶ 
δυσώλεθρον: οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ φύεται ἐν τοῖς 
ὄρεσιν. 

XIII. Ἴδιον δὲ τῇ φύσει δένδρον ὁ κέρασός 
ἐστι: μεγέθει μὲν μέγα: καὶ γὰρ εἰς τέτταρας 
καὶ εἴκοσι πήχεις" ἔστε δ᾽ ὀρθοφυὲς σφύδρα' 
πάχος δὲ ὥστε καὶ δίπηχυν τὴν περίμετρον ἀπὸ 
τῆς ῥίξης ἔχειν. φύλλον δ᾽ ὅμοιον τῷ τῆς 
μεσπίλης σκληρὸν δὲ σφόδρα καὶ παχύτερον, 
ὥστε τῇ χροιᾷ πόρρωθεν φανερὸν εἶναι τὸ δένδρον. 
φλοιὸν δὲ τὴν λειότητα καὶ τὴν χρόαν καὶ τὸ 
πάχος ὅμοιον φιλύρᾳ, δι’ ὃ καὶ τὰς κίστας ἐξ 
αὐτοῦ ποιοῦσιν ὥσπερ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ τῆς φιλύρας. 
περιπέφυκε δὲ οὗτος οὔτε ὀρθοφυὴς οὔτε κύκλῳ 
κατ᾽ ἶσον, ἀλλ᾽ ἑλικηδὸν περιείληφε κάτωθεν ἄνω 





1 ὅσαπερ μὴ conj. Bod.; ὥσπερ τὰ Ald.; ὥστε τὰ Μ. 

2 κόμην Ald.H.; κορυφὴν conj. Sch.; vertice G. 

* Phin 160125 ΟΠ ΟΣ 172 2 

+ παχύτερον : so quoted by Athen. 2. 34; πλατύτερον MSS 


242 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IT. xm. 8—xin. 1 


which is glistening and swollen as though the tree 
were just about to burst into leaf, and this persists 
through the winter. The sorb, like the medlar, is 
thornless; it has smooth rather shiny bark, (except 
when! the tree is old), which in colour is a whitish 
yellow; but in old trees it is rough and black. The 
tree is of a good size, of erect growth and with well 
balanced foliage; for in general it assumes a cone- 
like shape as to its foliage,’ unless something inter- 
feres. ‘The wood is hard close strong and of a good 
colour; the roots are not numerous and do not run 
deep, but they are strong and thick and inde- 
structible. The tree grows from a root, from a piece 
torn off, or from seed, and seeks a cold moist position ; 
in such a position it is tenacious of life and hard to 
kill: however it also grows on mountains. 


Of bird-cherry, elder, willow. 

XIII. ?The kerasos (bird-cherry) is peculiar in 
character; it is of great stature, growing as much as 
twenty-four cubits high; and it is of very erect 
growth ; as to thickness, it is as much as two cubits 
in circumference at the base. The leaves are like 
those of the medlar, but very tough and thicker,‘ so 
that the tree is conspicuous by its colour from a 
distance. The bark ὃ insmoothness colour and thick- 
ness is like that of the lime; wherefore men make 
their writing-cases ὅ from it, as from the bark of that 
tree. 7This bark does not grow straight nor evenly 
Αἱ] round the tree, but runs round it® in a spiral 

5 cf. 4. 15. 1; Hesych. s.v. κέρασος. 

8 cf. 3. 10.4; Ar. Vesp. 529. 

7 περιπέφυκε. .. περιπεφυκός : text as restored by Sch. and 


others, following U as closely as possible. 
8 περιείληφε conj. R. Const. 


243 


4 


THEOPHRASTUS 


προσάγων, ὥσπερ ἡ διαγραφὴ τῶν φύλλων: και 
λοπιζόμενος οὗτος ἐγδέρεται, ἐκεῖνος δ᾽ ἐπίτομος 
γίνεται καὶ οὐ δύναται" μέρος δ᾽ αὐτοῦ τι τὸν 
αὐτὸν τρόπον ἀφαιρεῖται κατὰ πάχος σχιζόμενον 
λεπτὸν ὡς ἂν φύλλον, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν προσμένειν 
τε δύναται καὶ σώξει τὸ δένδρον ὡσαύτως περι- 
πεφυκός. περιαιρουμένου δὲ ὅταν omg τοῦ 
φλοιοῦ συνεκραίνει καὶ τότε τὴν ὑγρότητα: καὶ 
ὅταν ὁ ἔξω χιτὼν περιαιρεθῇ, μ όνον ὁ ὑπολιπὴς 
ἐπιμελαίνεται. ὥσπερ μυξώ εἰ ὑγρασίᾳ, καὶ πάλιν 
ὑποφύεται τῷ δευτέρῳ ἔτει χιτὼν aos ἀντ᾽ 
ἐκείνου πλὴν λεπτότερος. πέφυκε καὶ τὸ ξύλον 
ὅμοιον ταῖς ἰσὶ τῷ φλοιῷ στρεπτῶς ἑλιττόμενον" 
καὶ οἱ ῥάβδοι φύονται τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον εὐθύς" 
τοὺς ὄζους δ᾽ αὐξανομένου συμβαίνει τοὺς μὲν 
κάτω ἀεὶ ἀπόλλυσθαι τοὺς 8 ἄνω αὔξειν. τὸ δ᾽ 
ὅλον οὐ πολύοζον τὸ δένδρον ἀλλ᾽ ἀνοζότερον 
πολὺ τῆς αἰγείρου. πολύρριζον δὲ καὶ ἐπι- 
πολαιόρριξζον οὐκ ἄγαν δὲ παχύρριζον' ἡ δ᾽ 
ἐπιστροφὴ cal τῆς ῥίζης Kal τοῦ φλοιοῦ τοῦ περὶ 
αὐτὴν ἡ αὐτή. ἄνθος δὲ λευκὸν ἀπίῳ καὶ μεσπίλῃ 
ὅμοιον, ἐκ “μικρῶν ἀνθῶν συγκείμενον κηριῶδες. 
ὁ δὲ καρπὸς ἐρυθρὸς ὅμοιος διοσπύρῳ τὸ σχῆμα, 
τὸ δὲ “μέγεθος ἡλίκον κύαμος, πλὴν. τοῦ διοσπύρου 
μὲν ὁ πυρὴν σκληρὸς τοῦ δὲ κεράσου μαλακός. 
φύεται δ᾽ ὅπου καὶ ἡ φίλυρα, τὸ δὲ ὅλον ὅπου 
ποταμοὶ καὶ ἔφυδρα. 

Φύεται δὲ καὶ ἡ ἀκτὴ μάλιστα παρ᾽ ὕδωρ καὶ 


1 Which is an ellipse, the segment of a cylinder: so Sch. 


explains. 
ἐκεῖνος : ἴ,6. lower down the trunk, where the spiral is 
less open. 3 érlrouos: ef. 5. 1. 12. 


244 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xm. 1-4 


(which becomes closer as it gets higher up the tree) 
like the outline of the leaves! And this part of 
it can be stripped off by peeling, whereas with the 
other part? this is not possible and it has to be cut 
in short lengths. In the same manner part is 
removed by being split off in flakes as thin as a leaf, 
while the rest can be left and protects the tree, grow- 
ing about it as described. If the bark is stripped off 
when the tree is peeling, there is also at the time a 
discharge of the sap; further, when only the outside 
coat is stripped off, what remains turns black with a 
kind‘ of mucus-like moisture; and in the second 
year another coat grows to replace what is lost, but 
this is thinner. The wood in its fibres is like the 
bark, twisting spirally,°> and the branches grow in 
the same manner from the first; and, as the tree 
grows, it comes to pass that the lower branches keep 
on perishing, while the upper ones increase. How- 
ever the whole tree is not much branched, but has 
far fewer branches than the black poplar. Its roots 
are numerous and shallow and not very thick; and 
there is a similar twisting of the root and of the bark 
which surrounds it. ©The flower is white, like that 
of the pear and medlar, composed of a number of 
small blossoms arranged like a honeycomb. The 
fruit is red, like that of diospyros in shape, and in size 
it is as large as a bean. However the stone of the 
diospyros fruit is hard, while that of the bird-cherry 
is soft. The tree grows where the lime grows, and 
in general where there are rivers and damp places. 
7The elder also grows chiefly by water and in shady 


4 ὥσπερ conj. Sch.; περ MV; πως Ald.H. 
5 στρεπτῶς ἑλιττόμενον conj. Sch.; στρεπτῷ ἑλιττομένωι U; 
στρεπτῷ ἑλιττομένῳ Ald. Cf: 3: 19: η: 7 Pliny 7.151: 


245 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἐν τοῖς σκιεροῖς, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ Kal ἐν τοῖς μὴ 
τοιούτοις" θαμνῶδες δὲ ῥάβδοις ἐπετείοις αὐξα- 
νομέναις μέχρι τῆς φυλλορροίας εἰς μῆκος, εἶτα 
μετὰ ταῦτα εἰς πάχος" τὸ δὲ ὕψος τῶν ῥάβδων 
οὐ μέγα λίαν ἀλλὰ καὶ μάλιστα ὡς ἑξάπηχυ' 
τῶν δὲ στελεχῶν πάχος τῶν γερανδρύων ὅσον 
περικεφαλαίας, φλοιὸς δὲ λεῖος λεπτὸς καπυρός' 
τὸ δὲ ξύλον “χαῦνον καὶ κοῦφον ξηρανθέν, ἐν- 
τεριώνην δὲ ἔχον μαλακήν, ὥστε δι’ ὅλου καὶ 
κοιλαίνεσθαι τὰς ῥάβδους, ἐξ ὧν καὶ τὰς ᾿βακτη- 
ρίας ποιοῦσι τὰς κούφας. ξηρανθὲν δὲ ὦ ἰσχυρὸν 
καὶ ἀγήρων ἐὰν βρέχηται, κἂν 7 λελοπισμένον' 
λοπίζεται δὲ αὐτόματον ξηραινόμενον. ῥίξας δὲ 
ἔχει μετεώρους οὐ πολλὰς δὲ οὐδὲ μεγάλας. 
φύλλον. δὲ τὸ μὲν καθ᾽ ἕκαστον μαλακόν, πρό- 
μῆκες ὡς τὸ τῆς πλατυφύλλου δάφνης, μεῖζον 
δὲ καὶ πλατύτερον καὶ περιφερέστερον ἐκ μέσου 
καὶ κάτωθεν, τὸ δ᾽ ἄκρον εἰς ὀξὺ μᾶλλον συνῆκον 
κύκλῳ δ᾽ ἔχον χαραγμόν' τὸ δὲ ὅλον, περὶ ἕνα 
μίσχον “παχὺν καὶ ἰνώδη, ὡσὰν κλωνίον τὰ μὲν 
ἔνθεν τὰ δὲ ἔνθεν κατὰ γόνυ καὶ συζυγίαν πεφύ- 
κασι τῶν φύλλων διέχοντα ἀπ᾽ ἀλλήλων, ἕν δὲ 
ἐξ ἄκρου τοῦ μίσχου. ὑπέρυθρα δὲ τὰ φύλλα 
ἐπιεικῶς καὶ χαῦνα καὶ σαρκώδη: “φυλλορροεῖ 
δὲ τοῦτο ὅλον, διόπερ φύλλον ἄν τις εἴποι τὸ ὅλον. 
ἔχουσι δὲ καὶ οἱ κλῶνες οἱ νέοι γωνοειδῆ τινα. 
τὸ δ᾽ ἄνθος λευκὸν ἐκ μικρῶν λευκῶν πολλῶν 
ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ μίσχου σχίσει κηριῶδες: εὐωδίαν 


1 περικεφαλαίας, some part of ἃ ship’s prow: so Pollux. 
2 καπυρός conj. Sch.; καὶ πυρσός U () ; καὶ πυρρός V3 καὶ 
πουρός Μ. 3 Sc. pith. 


246 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xt. 4-6 


places, but likewise in places which are not of this 
character. It is shrubby, with annual branches which 
go on growing in length till the fall of the leaf, after 
which they increase in thickness. The branches do 
not grow to a very great height, about six cubits at 
most. The thickness of the stem of old trees is 
about that of the ‘helmet’! of a ship; the bark is 
smooth thin and brittle?; the wood is porous and 
light when dried, and has a soft heart-wood,? so that 
the boughs are hollow right through, and men make 
of them their light walking-sticks. When dried it is 
strong and durable if it is soaked, even if it is stripped 
of the bark; and it strips itself of its own accord as it 
dries. The roots are shallow and neither numerous 
nor large. The single leaflet is soft and oblong, like 
the leaf of the ‘broad-leaved’ bay, but larger broader 
and rounder at the middle and base, though the tip 
narrows more to a point and is jagged# all round. 
The whole leaf is composed of leaflets growing about 
a single thick fibrous stalk, as it were, to which they 
are attached at either side in pairs at each joint; 
and they are separate from one another, while one 
is attached to the tip of the stalk. The leaves are 
somewhat reddish porous and fleshy: the whole is 
shed in one piece ; wherefore one may consider the 
whole structure as ἃ ‘leaf.’5 The young twigs too 
have certain crooks® in them. ‘The flower’ is white, 
made up of a number of small white blossoms 
attached to the point where the stalk divides, 
in form like a honeycomb, and it has the heavy 

4 χαραγμόν conj. R. Const. from G; παραγμόν UMV; 
σπαραγμόν Ald. 11]. 3. τὸ 

8 γωνοειδὴ ἴ; 1 γωνιοειδῆ ; G seems to have read γονατοειδῇ ; 


Sch. considers the text defective or mutilated. 
7.7. 5. 19. 7 πὶ 


247 


s 


THEOPHRASTUS 


δὲ ΝΜ , ᾽ a ” \ \ \ 
é ἔχει λειριώδη ἐπιβαρεῖαν. ἔχει δὲ καὶ τὸν 
καρπὸν ὁμοίως πρὸς ἑνὶ μίσχῳ παχεῖ βοτρυώδη 
δέ: γίνεται δὲ καταπεπαινόμενος μέλας, ὠμὸς δὲ 
x > , , \ A ΄, ΓΕ 
ὧν ὀμφακώδης" μεγέθει δὲ μικρῷ μείζων dpoSov: 
τὴν ὑγρασίαν δὲ οἰνώδη τῇ ὄψει" καὶ τὰς χεῖρας 
PS / \ \ / » \ 
τελειούμενοι βάπτονται καὶ Tas κεφαλάς" ἔχει δὲ 
καὶ τὰ ἐντὸς σησαμοειδῆ τὴν ὄψιν. 
Πάρυδρον δὲ καὶ ἡ ἰτέα καὶ πολυειδές: ἡ μὲν 
μέλαινα καλουμένη τῷ τὸν φλοιὸν ἔχειν μέλανα 
lal \ A a 
καὶ φοινικοῦν, ἡ δὲ λευκὴ TH λευκόν. καλλίους 
\ 
δὲ ἔχει τὰς ῥάβδους καὶ χρησιμωτέρας εἰς τὸ 
/ e i ς δὲ \ , » 
πλέκειν ἡ μέλαινα, N δὲ λευκὴ καπυρωτέρας. ἔστι 
a / fol na 
δὲ καὶ τῆς μελαίνης καὶ τῆς λευκῆς ἔνιον γένος 
μικρὸν καὶ οὐκ ἔχον αὔξησιν εἰς ὕψος, ὥσπερ καὶ 
ἐπ᾿ ἄλλων τοῦτο δένδρων, οἷον κέδρου φοίνικος. 
καλοῦσι δ᾽ οἱ περὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν οὐκ itéav ἀλλὰ 
« / \ δέ ὃ A 7 δέ « > / θ \ 
ἑλίκην TO δένδρον' οἴονται δέ, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, καὶ 
\ , 
καρπὸν ἔχειν αὐτὴν γόνιμον. 
XIV. ἔστι δὲ τῆς πτελέας δύο γένη, καὶ τὸ μὲν 
a \ r 
ὀρειπτελέα καλεῖται TO δὲ TTEAEA* διαφέρει δὲ τῷ 
θαμνωδέστερον εἶναι τὴν πτελέαν εὐαυξέστερον δὲ 
ΟΝ , ΄ «5 \ 
τὴν ὀρειπτελέαν. φύλλον δὲ ἀσχιδὲς περικεχαραγ- 
μένον ἡσυχῆ, προμηκέστερον δὲ τοῦ τῆς ἀπίου, 





1 καταπεπαινόμενος conj. W.; καὶ rer, VAId. 

2 kal... βάπτονται I conj., following Scal., W., etc., but 
keeping closer to U: certain restoration perhaps impossible ; 
καὶ Tas χεῖρας τελείους ἀναβλάστει δὲ καὶ Tas κεφαλάς U ; χεῖρας 
δὲ τελείους: ἀναβλασεῖ MV; om. G. 

8. Plin. 16. 174 and 175. 


248 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xi. 6-x1v. 1 


fragrance of lilies. The fruit is in like manner 
attached to a single thick stalk, but in a cluster: 
as it becomes quite ripe,! it turns black, but when 
unripe it is like unripe grapes; in size the berry is a 
little larger than the seed of a vetch; the juice is 
like wine in appearance, and in it men bathe? their 
hands and heads when they are being initiated into 
the mysteries. The seeds inside the berry are like 
sesame. 

3 The willow also grows by the water, and there 
are many kinds. There is that which is called 
the black willow‘ because its bark is black and 
red, and that which is called the white* from the 
colour of its bark. The black kind has boughs 
which are fairer and more serviceable for basket- 
work, while those of the white are more brittle.® 
There is a form both of the black and of the white 
which is small and does not grow to a height,—just 
as there are dwarf forms of other trees, such as 
prickly cedar and palm. The people of Arcadia 
call the tree® not ‘willow’ but helike: they believe, 
as was said,’ that it bears fruitful seed. 


Of elm, poplars, alder, [semyda, bladder-senna]. 


XIV. § Of the elm there are two kinds, of which 
one is called the ‘mountain elm,’ the other simply 
the ‘elm’: the difference is that the latter is 
shrubbier, while the mountain elm grows more 
vigorously. The leaf is undivided and_ slightly 
jagged, longer than that of the pear, but rough 


4 See Index. 

> καπυρωτέρας conj. Sch.; καὶ πυρωτέρας U; καὶ muporépas 
MVAId. ef. 3. 13. 4. 

® Sc. ἰτέα generally, Cae ia Bae e Pliny 16.72: 


249 


THEOPHRASTUS 


τραχυ δὲ και οὐ λεῖον. μέγα δὲ τὸ δένδρον καὶ 
τῷ ὕψει καὶ τῷ μεγέθει. πολὺ δ᾽ οὐκ ἔστι περὶ 
τὴν Ἴδην ἀλλὰ σπάνιον" τόπον δὲ ἔφυδρον φιλεῖ. 
τὸ δὲ ξύλον. ξανθὸν καὶ ἰσχυρὸν καὶ εὔινον καὶ 
γλίσχρον" ἅπαν γὰρ καρδία: χρῶνται δ᾽ αὐτῷ 
καὶ πρὸς θυρώματα πολυτελῆ, καὶ χλωρὸν μὲν 
εὔτομον ξηρὸν δὲ δύστομον. ἄκαρπον δὲ νομί- 
ζουσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ταῖς κωρυκίσι TO κόμμι καὶ Onpi 
ἄττα κωνωποειδῆ φέρει. τὰς δὲ κάχρυς ἰδίας 
ἴσχει τοῦ μετοπώρου πολλὰς καὶ μικρὰς καὶ 
μελαίνας, ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἄλλαις ὥραις οὐκ ἐπέ- 
σκεπται. 

Ἡ δὲ λεύκη καὶ ἡ αἴγειρος μονοειδής, ὀρθοφυῆ 
δὲ ἄμφω, πλὴν μακρότερον πολὺ καὶ "μανότερον 
καὶ λειότερον ἡ αἴγειρος, τὸ δὲ σχῆμα τῶν φύλλων 
παρόμοιον. ὅμοιον δὲ καὶ τὸ ξύλον τεμνόμενον 
τῇ λευκότητι. καρπὸν δ᾽ οὐδέτερον τούτων οὐδὲ 
ἄνθος ἔ ἔχειν δοκεῖ. 

‘H κερκὶς δὲ παρόμοιον τῇ λεύκῃ Kal TO μεγέθει 
καὶ τῷ τοὺς κλάδους ἐπιλεύκους ἔχειν: τὸ δὲ 
φύλλον κιττῶδες μὲν ἀγώνιον δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἄλλου, 
τὴν δὲ μίαν προμήκη καὶ εἰς ὀξὺ συνήκουσαν" τῷ 
δὲ χρώματι σχεδὸν ὅμοιον τὸ ὕπτιον καὶ τὸ 
πρανές" μίσχῳ ὲ προσηρτημένον μακρῷ καὶ 
λεπτῷ, δι᾿ ὃ καὶ οὐκ ὀρθὸν ἀλλ᾽ ἐγκεκλιμένον. 
φλοιὸν δὲ τραχύτερον. τῆς λεύκης “καὶ μᾶλλον 
ὑπόλεπρον, ὥσπερ ὁ τῆς ἀχράδος. ἄκαρπον δέ. 

Μονογενὲς δὲ καὶ ἡ κλήθρα' φύσει δὲ καὶ 


Ἰ γλίσχρον conj. St.; αἰσχρόν Ald.H. ef. ὅ. 3. 4. 
ΞΟ] Oey Or τς 
3 of. τὸ θυλακῶδες τοῦτυ, 3. 7.3; 2. 8. ὃ π.; 9. 1. 2 


250 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xiv. 1-3 


rather than smooth. The tree is large, being both 
tall and wide-spreading. It is not common about 
Ida, but rare, and likes wet ground. The wood is 
yellow strong fibrous and tough!; for it is all heart. 
Men use it for expensive doors”: it is easy to cut 
when it is green, but difficult when it is dry. The 
tree is thought to bear no fruit, but in the ‘ wallets ᾿ ὅ 
it produces its gum and certain creatures like gnats ; 
and it has in autumn its peculiar ‘ winter-buds’ 4 
which are numerous small and black, but these have 
not been observed at other seasons. 

The abele and the black poplar have each but a 
single kind: both are of erect growth, but the black 
poplar is much taller and of more open growth, and 
is smoother, while the shape of its leaves is similar 
to those of the other. The wood also of both, when 
cut, is much the same in whiteness. Neither of 
these trees appears to have fruit or flower.5 

The aspen is a tree resembling the abele both in 
size and in having whitish branches, but the leaf 
is ivy-like: while however it is otherwise without 
angles, its one angular® projection is long and 
narrows to a sharp point: in colour the upper and 
under sides are much alike. The leaf is attached 
to a long thin stalk: wherefore the leaf is not set 
straight, but has a droop.’ The bark of the abele 
is rougher and more scaly, like that of the wild pear, 
and it bears no fruit. 

The alder also has but one form: in growth it is 


4 κάχρυς, here probably a gall, mistaken for winter-bud. 

5 cf., however, 3. 3. 4; 4. 10. 2, where T. seems to follow a 
different authority. 

6 Supply γωνίαν from ἀγώνιον. 

7 ἀγκεκλιμένον : sc. is not in line with the stalk, 


251 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ὀρθοφυές, ξύλον δ᾽ ἔχον μαλακὸν καὶ ἐντεριώνην 
μαλακήν, ὥστε δι᾽ ὅλου κοιλαίνεσθαι τὰς λεπτὰς 
ῥάβδους. φύλλον δ᾽ ὅμοιον ἀπίω. πλὴν μεῖξον 
καὶ ἰνωδέστερον. τραχύφλοιον δὲ καὶ ὁ φλοιὸς 
ἔσωθεν ἐρυθρός, δι’ ὃ καὶ βάπτει τὰ δέρματα. 
ῥίξας δὲ ἐπιπολαίους... ἡλίκον δάφνης. φύεται 
δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἐφύδροις ἀλλόθι δ᾽ οὐδαμοῦ. 

[Σημύδα δὲ τὸ μὲν φύλλον ἔχει ὅμοιον τῇ 
Περσικῇ καλουμένῃ καρύᾳ πλὴν μικρῷ στενότε- 
ρον, τὸν φλοιὸν δὲ ποικίλον, ξύλον δὲ ἐλαφρόν" 
χρήσιμον δὲ εἰς βακτηρίας μόνον εἰς ἄλλο δὲ 
οὐδέν. 

Ἢ δὲ κολυτέα ἔχει τὸ μὲν φύλλον ἐγγὺς τοῦ 
τῆς ἰτέας, πολύοξον δὲ καὶ πολύφυλλον καὶ τὸ 
δένδρον ὅλως μέγα: τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ἔλλοβον, 
καθάπερ τὰ “χεδροπά: λοβοῖς “γὰρ πλατέσι καὶ 
οὐ στενοῖς τὸ σπερμάτιον τὸ ἐνὸν μικρὸν καὶ οὐ 
μέγα: σκληρὸν δὲ μετρίως οὐκ ἄγαν" οὐδὲ πολύ- 
καρπὸν. ὡς κατὰ μέγεθος. σπάνιον δὲ τὸ ἐν 
λοβοῖς ἔχειν τὸν καρπόν" ὀλίγα γὰρ τοιαῦτα τῶν 
δένδρων.] 

XY. ‘A δὲ Ἡρακλεωτικὴ καρύα--φύσει γὰρ 
καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἄγριον τῷ τε μηδὲν ἢ μὴ πολὺ 
χείρω γίνεσθαι <i> TOV ἡμέρων TOV καρπόν, καὶ 
τῷ δύνασθαι χειμῶνας ὑποφέρειν καὶ τῷ πολὺ 
φύεσθαι κατὰ τὰ ὄρη καὶ πολύκαρπον ἐν τοῖς 
ὀρείοις" ἔτι δὲ τῷ μηδὲ στελεχῶδες ἀλλὰ θαμ- 





1 Part of the description of the flower, and perhaps of the 
fruit, seems to be nS Sch. 
2 of. 4.8.1; but in 1. 4.3 the alder is classed with ‘am- 
phibious’ trees, and in 3. 3. 1 with ‘ trees of the plain.’ 
3 Betulam, G from Plin, 16, 74. 


252 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. x1v. 3-xv. 1 


also erect, and it has soft wood and a soft heart-wood, 
so that the slender boughs are hollow throughout. 
The leaf is like that of the pear, but larger and 
more fibrous. It has rough bark, which on the inner 
side is red: wherefore it is used for dyeing hides. 
It has shallow roots...1 the flower is as large as 
that of the bay. It grows in wet places? and 
nowhere else. 

The semyda?® has a leaf like that of the tree called 
the ‘ Persian nut’ (walnut), but it is rather narrower : 
the bark is variegated and the wood light: it is only 
of use for making walking-sticks and for no other 
purpose. 

The bladder-senna‘ has a leaf near that of the 
willow, but is many-branched and has much foliage ; 
and the tree altogether is a large one. ‘The fruit is 
in a pod, as in leguminous plants: the pods in fact 
are broad rather than narrow, and the seed in them 
is comparatively small, and is moderately hard, but 
not so very hard. For its size the tree does not 
bear much fruit. It is uncommon to have the fruit 
in a pod; in fact there are few such trees. 


Of filbert, terebinth, box, krataigos. 


XV. The filbert is also naturally a wild tree, in that 
its fruit is little, if at all, inferior to that of the tree 
in cultivation, that it can stand winter, that it grows 
commonly on the mountains, and that it bears 
abundance of fruit in mountain regions ὃ ; also because 
it does not make a trunk, but is shrubby with 

4 Sch. remarks that the description of κολυτέα is out of 
place: cf. 3.17.2. W. thinks the whole section spurious. 
The antitheses in the latter part suggest a different context, 
in which xoAvréa was described by comparison with some 
other tree. 5 ὀρείοις conj. W.; φοραῖς Ald. 


253 


THEOPHRASTUS 


νῶδες εἶναι ῥάβδοις ἄνευ μασχαλῶν καὶ ἀνόξοις 
μακραῖς δὲ καὶ παχείαις ἐνίαις" —ov μὴν ἀλλὰ 
καὶ ἐξημεροῦται. διαφορὰν δὲ ἔχει. τῷ τὸν 
καρπὸν ἀποδιδόναι βελτίω καὶ μεῖζον τὸ φύλλον: 
κεχαραγμένον δ᾽ ἀμφοῖν' ὁμοιότατον. τὸ τῆς 
κλήθρας, πλὴν πλατύτερον καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ δένδρον 
μεῖζον. καρπιμώτερον δ᾽ αἰεὶ γίνεται κατα- 
κοπτόμενον τὰς ῥάβδους. γένη δὲ δύο ἀμφοῖν' 
αἱ μὲν γὰρ στρο γγύλον αἱ δὲ πρόμακρον φέρουσι 
τὸ καάρυον" EKNEVKOTEPOV δὲ TO TOV ἡμέρων. Kal 
καλλικαρπεῖ μάλιστά γ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἐφύδροις. ἐξη- 
μεροῦται δὲ τὰ ἄγρια μεταφυτευόμενα. φλοιὸν 
δ᾽ ἔχει λεῖον ἐπιπόλαιον λεπτὸν λιπαρὸν ἰδίως 
στιγμὰς λευκὰς ἔχοντα ἐν αὐτῷ' τὸ δὲ ξύλον 
σφόδρα γλίσχρον, ὥστε καὶ τὰ λεπτὰ πάνυ ῥαβ- 
ία περιλοπίσαντες κανξα ποιοῦσι, καὶ τὰ παχέα 
δὲ καταξύσαντες. ἔχει δὲ καὶ ἐντεριώνην λεπτὴν 
ξανθήν, 7 κοιλαίνεται. ἴδιον δ᾽ αὐτῶν τὸ περὶ 
τὸν ἴουλον, ὥσπερ εἴπομεν. 

Ths δὲ ᾿τερμίνθου τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν τὸ δὲ θῆλυ. τὸ 
μὲν οὖν ἄρρεν ἄκαρπον, δ’ ὃ καὶ καλοῦσιν ἄρρεν' 
τῶν δὲ θηλειῶν ἡ μὲν ἐρυθρὸν εὐθὺς φέρει τὸν 
καρπὸν ἡλίκον φακὸν ἄπεπτον, ἡ δὲ χλοερὸν 
ἐνέγκασα μετὰ ταῦτα ἐρυθραίνει, καὶ ἅμα τῇ 
ἀμπέλῳ πεπαίνουσα τὸ ἔσχατον ποιεῖ μέλανα, 
μέγεθος ἡλίκον κύαμον, ῥητινώδη δὲ καὶ θυω- 
δέστερον. ἔστι δὲ τὸ δένδρον περὶ μὲν τὴν Ἴδην 
καὶ Μακεδονίαν βραχὺ θαμνῶδες ἐστραμμένον, 
περὶ δὲ Δαμασκὸν τῆς Συρίας μέγα καὶ πολὺ 
καὶ καλόν: ὄρος γάρ τί φασιν εἶναι πάμμεστον 


Ref. ClPo 212.6, 2 cf. Geop. 10. 68. 
3 χεῖον conj. W.; πλέον UMVAId. 


254 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xv. 1-3 


unbranched stems without knots; though some of 
these are long and stout. Nevertheless it also submits 
to cultivation. The cultivated form differs in produc- 
ing better fruit and larger leaves; in both forms the 
leaf has a jagged edge: the leaf of the alder most 
closely resembles it, but is broader, and the tree itself 
is bigger. 1 The filbert is always more fruitful if it 
has its slender boughs cut off. ? There are two kinds 
of each sort; some have a round, others an oblong 
nut; that of the cultivated tree is paler, and it fruits 
best in damp places. The wild tree becomes 
cultivated by being transplanted. Its bark is smooth,? 
consisting of one layer, thin glossy and with peculiar 
white blotches on it. ‘The wood is extremely tough, 
so that men make baskets even of the quite thin 
twigs, having stripped them of their bark, and ot 
the stout ones when they have whittled them. Also 
it has a small amount of yellow heart-wood, which 
makes‘ the branches hollow. Peculiar to these trees 
is the matter of the catkin, as we mentioned.® 

6 The terebinth has a ‘ male’ and a ‘ female’ form. 
The ‘male’ is barren, which is why it is called 
‘male’; the fruit of one of the ‘female’ forms is 
red from the first and as large as an unripe’ lentil ; 
the other produces a green fruit which subsequently 
turns red, and, ripening at the same time as the 
grapes, becomes eventually black and is as large as a 
bean, but resinous and somewhat aromatic. About 
Ida and in Macedonia the tree is low shrubby and 
twisted, but in the Syrian Damascus, where it 
abounds, it is tall and handsome; indeed they say 


4 ἢ Ald.H.; ἡ W. with U. ef. 3. 13. 4. 
Di Fay fails 6 Plin. 13. 54. 
7 καὶ before ἄπεπτον om. St 


255 


THEOPHRASTUS 


4 τερμίνθων, ἄλλο δ᾽ οὐδὲν πεφυκέναι. “ξύλον δὲ 
ἔχει γλίσχρον καὶ pifas ἰσχυρὰς κατὰ βάθους, 
καὶ τὸ ὅλον ἀνώλεθρον" ἄνθος δὲ ὅμοιον τῷ τῆς 
ἐλάας, τῷ χρώματι δὲ ἐρυθρόν. φύλλον, περὶ 
ἕνα μίσχον πλείω δαφνοειδῆ κατὰ συξυγίαν, 
ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ "τῆς οἴης" καὶ τὸ ἐξ ἀ ἄκρου περιττόν" 
πλὴν ἐγγωνιώτερον τῆς οἴης καὶ δαφνοειδέστερον 
δὲ κύκλῳ καὶ λιπαρὸν ἅπαν ἅμα τῷ καρπῷ. 
φέρει δὲ καὶ “κωρυκώδη τινὰ κοῖλα, καθάπερ ἡ 
πτελέα, ἐν οἷς θηρίδια ἐγγίγνεται κωνωποειδῆ" 
ἐγγίγνεται δέ τι καὶ ῥητινῶδες ἐν τούτοις καὶ 
γλίσχρον' οὐ μὴν ἐνθεῦτέν γε ἡ ῥητίνη συλλέ- 
γεται ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου. ὁ δὲ καρπὸς οὐκ 
ἀφίησι ῥητίνης πλῆθος, ἀλλὰ προσέχεται μὲν 
ταῖς χερσί, κἂν μὴ πλυθῇ μετὰ τὴν συλλογὴν 
συνέχεται" πλυνόμενος δὲ ὁ μὲν λευκὸς καὶ 
ἄπεπτος ἐπιπλεῖ, ὁ δὲ μέλας ὑφίσταται. 

5 ‘H δὲ πύξος ᾿μεγέθει μὲν οὐ μεγάλη, τὸ δὲ 
φύλλον ὅμοιον ἔχει μυρρίνῳ. φύεται 8 ἐν τοῖς 
ψυχροῖς τόποις καὶ τραχέσι' καὶ γὰρ τὰ Κύτωρα 
ΤΡ τΝ οὗ ἡ πλείστη γίνεται" ψυχρὸς δὲ καὶ 

Ὄλυμπος ὁ Maxedovixos: Kal yap ἐνταῦθα 
γίνεται πλὴν οὐ μεγάλη: μεγίστη δὲ καὶ καλ- 
λίστη ἐν Κύρνῳ: καὶ γὰρ εὐμήκεις καὶ πάχος 
ἔχουσαι πολὺ παρὰ τὰς ἄλλας. δι’ ὃ καὶ τὸ 
μέλι οὐχ ἡδὺ ὄζον τῆς πύξου. 





1 πλείω : SC. φύλλα, in loose apposition to φύλλον. Ap- 
parently the leaf is said to resemble that of οἴη in its compo- 
site structure, but that of the bay in shape: ef. 3. 12. 7. 

2 ἅπαν ἅμα conj.\W.; cae ἅπαν UAld. 

wor. 2. By bh ἢ: 3; . 14.1. κωρυκώδη conj. R. Const.; 
κορυώδη Ald.; πῶρυώδη τι 3 καρυώδη mBas. 


256 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xv. 3-5 


that there is a certain hill which is covered with 
terebinths, though nothing else grows on it. It has 
tough wood and strong roots which run deep, and the 
tree as a whole is impossible to destroy. The flower 
is like that of the olive, but red in colour. The leaf 
is made up of a number of leaflets,! like bay leaves, 
attached in pairs to a single leaf-stalk. So far it 
resembles the leaf of the sorb; there is also the 
extra leaflet at the tip: but the leaf is more angular 
than that of the sorb, and the edge resembles 
more the leaf of the bay; the leaf is glossy all 
over,? as is the fruit. It bears also some hollow 
bag-like ® growths, like the elm, in which are found 
little creatures like gnats; and resinous sticky 
matter is found also in these bags; but the resin is 
gathered from the wood and not from these. The 
fruit does not discharge much resin, but it clings to 
the hands, and, if it is not washed after gathering, it 
all sticks together ; if it is washed, the part which is 
white and unripe floats,’ but the black part sinks. 

The box is not a large tree, and it has a leaf like 
that of the myrtle. It grows in cold rough places ; 
for of this character is Cytora,>5 where it is most 
abundant. The Macedonian Olympus is also a cold 
region; ®for there too it grows, though not to a 
great size. It is largest and fairest in Corsica,’ 
where the tree grows taller and stouter than anywhere 
else; wherefore the honey there is not sweet, as it 
smells of the box. 

4 ἐπιπλεῖ conj. R. Const. from G ; ἐπὶ πλεῖον Ald.; ἐπὶ πλεῖ 
(erased) U. 

5 cf. Cytore buxifer, Catull. 4. 13; Plin. 16. 70. 


δ ΟΥ̓ 7. 
7 Κύρνῳ conj. R. Const. from Plin. l.c.; Κυρήνωι U; Κυρήνῃ 
ld. 


2.5.) 


6 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Πλήθει δὲ πολὺ Kpararyos ἐστιν, οἱ δὲ κρα- 
ται γόνα καλοῦσιν' ἔχει δὲ τὸ μὲν φύλλον ὃ ὅμοιον 
μεσπίλῃ τετανόν, πλὴν μεῖζον ἐ ἐκείνου καὶ πλατύ- 
τερον ἢ προμηκέστερον, τὸν δὲ χαραγμὸν οὐκ 
ἔχον ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνο. γίνεται δὲ τὸ δένδρον οὔτε 
μέγα λίαν οὔτε παχύ: τὸ δὲ ξύλον ποικίλον 
ἰσχυρὸν ξανθόν: ἔχει δὲ φλοιὸν λεῖον ὅμοιον 
μεσπίλῃ" μονόρριζον δ᾽ εἰς βάθος ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ. 
καρπὸν δ᾽ ἔχει στρογγύλον ἡλίκον ὁ κότινος" 
πεπαινόμενος δὲ ξανθύνεται καὶ ἐπιμελαίνεται:" 
κατὰ δὲ τὴν γεῦσιν καὶ τὸν χυλὸν μεσπιλῶδες: 
διόπερ οἷον ἀγρία μεσπίλη δόξειεν ἂν εἶναι. 
μονοειδὲς δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἔχον διαφοράς. 

ΧΙ Ὁ δὲ πρῖνος φύλλον μὲν ἔχει δρυῶδες, 
ἔλαττον δὲ καὶ ἐπακανθίξζον, τὸν δὲ ,“Φλοιὸν λειό- 
τερον δρυός. αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ δένδρον μέγα, καθάπερ 
ἡ δρῦς, ἐὰν ἔχῃ τόπον καὶ ἔδαφος" ξύλον δὲ 
πυκνὸν καὶ ἰσχυρόν' βαθύρριξον δὲ ἐπιεικῶς καὶ 
πολύρριζον. καρπὸν δὲ ἔχει βαλανώδη: μικρὰ 
δὲ ἡ βάλανος: περικαταλαμβάνει δὲ ὁ νέος τὸν 
evov ὀψὲ γὰρ πεπαίνει, δι’ ὃ καὶ διφορεῖν τινές 
φασι. φέρει δὲ παρὰ τὴν βάλανον καὶ κόκκον 
τινὰ φοινικοῦν" ἴσχει δὲ καὶ ἰξίαν καὶ ὑφέαρ' 
ὥστε ἐνίοτε συμβαίνει τέτταρας ἅμα καρποὺς 
ἔχειν αὐτόν, δύο μὲν τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ δύο δ᾽ ἄλλους 
τὸν τε τῆς ἰξίας καὶ τὸν τοῦ ὑφέαρος. καὶ τὴν 





1 Quoted by Athen. 2. 34; cf. Plin. 16. 120; 26. 99; 
27. 62 and 63. 

2 reraydv: cf. 3. 11. 1; 3. 12. &. Athen., U.c., has rera- 
μένον. 

3 ἐκεῖνο Athen, l.c.; κἀκεῖνο Ald. 

‘ ξανθὸν before ἰσχυρόν Athen. Le. 


258 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xv. 6-xv1. 1 


1 The krataigos is avery common tree; some call it 
krataigon. It has a smooth? leaf like that of the 
medlar, but longer, and its breadth is greater than 
its length, while the edge is not jagged like that * 
of the medlar. The tree does not grow very tall or 
thick; its wood is mottled strong and brown‘; it 
has a smooth bark like that of the medlar; it has 
generally a single root, which runs deep. ‘The fruit 
is round and as large as that of the wild olive; as 
it ripens it turns brown and black; in taste and 
flavour it is like that of the medlar; wherefore this 
might seem to be a sort of wild form of that tree.® 
There is only one form of it and it shews no 
variation. 


Of certain other oaks, arbutus, andrachne, wig-tree. 


XVI. The kermes-oak’ has a leaf like that of the 
oak, but smallerand spinous,’ while its bark is smoother 
than that of the oak. The tree itself is large, like 
the oak, if it has space and root-room; the wood is 
close and strong ; it roots fairly deep and it has many 
roots. The ine is like an acorn, but the kermes- 
oak’s acorn is small; the new one overtakes that of 
last year, for it ripens late.2 Wherefore some say 
that it bears twice. Besides the acorn it bears a kind 
of scarlet berry !°; it also has oak-mistletoe! and 
mistletoe; so that sometimes it happens that it has 
four fruits on it at once, two which are its own and 
two others, namely those of the oak-mistletoe!! and 


5 κότινος Athen. l.c.3 κόψιμος UMVAId. 

6 μεσπίλη added τ Athen. l.c. 

Deh ΣῈ, Τ|5 ΘῈ 5. ΟΠ. 3: Ga. 3.0.5. 4.01.4. and 6. 
10 Plin. 16. 32; Simon. ap. Plut. Theseus 17. 

Br ΟΡ Ὁ 17. ile 


259 


THEOPHRASTUS 


μὲν ἰξίαν φέρει ἐκ τῶν πρὸς βορρᾶν, τὸ δὲ ὑφεαρ 
ἐκ τῶν πρὸς μεσημβρίαν. 

Οἱ δὲ περὶ ᾿Αρκαδίαν δένδρον τι σμίλακα 
καλοῦσιν, ὅ ἐστιν ὅμοιον τῷ πρίνῳ, τὰ δὲ φύλλα 
οὐκ ἀκανθώδη ἐ ἔχει ἀλλ᾽ ἁπαλώτερα καὶ βαθύτερα 
καὶ διαφορὰς ἔχοντα πλείους" οὐδὲ τὸ ξύλον 
ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνο στερεὸν καὶ πυκνόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ 
μαλακὸν ἐν ταῖς ἐργασίαις. 

70) δὲ καλοῦσιν οἱ ᾿Αρκάδες φελλόδρυν. τοιάνδε 
ἔχει τὴν φύσιν' ὡς μὲν ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ἀνὰ μέσον 
πρίνου καὶ δρυός ἐστιν" καὶ ἔνιοί “γε ὑπολαμβά- 
νουσιν εἶναι θῆλυν πρῖνον' δι᾿ δ καὶ ὅπου μὴ 
φύεται πρῖνος τούτῳ χρῶνται πρὸς τὰς ἁμάξας 
καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα, καθάπερ οἱ περὶ Λακεδαίμονα καὶ 
᾿Ηλείαν. καλοῦσι δὲ οἵ γε Δωριεῖς καὶ ἀρίαν τὸ 
δένδρον" ἔστι δὲ μαλακώτερον μὲν καὶ μανότερον 
τοῦ πρίνου, σκληρότερον δὲ καὶ πυκνότερον τῆς 
δρυός: καὶ τὸ χρῶμα φλοϊσθέντος τοῦ ξύλου 
λευκότερον μὲν τοῦ πρίνου, οἰνωπότερον δὲ τῆς 
δρυός" τὰ δὲ φύλλα προσέοικε μὲν ἀμφοῖν, ἔχει 
δὲ “μείζω μὲν ἢ ὡς πρῖνος ἐλάττω δὲ ἢ ἢ ὡς δρῦς" 
καὶ τὸν καρπὸν τοῦ μὲν πρίνου κατὰ μέγεθος 
ἐλάττω ταῖς ἐλαχίσταις δὲ βαλάνοις ἴσον, καὶ 
γλυκύτερον μὲν τοῦ πρίνου πικρότερον δὲ τῆς 
δρυός. καλοῦσι δέ τινες τὸν μὲν τοῦ πρίνου καὶ 
τὸν ταύτης καρπὸν ἄκυλον, τὸν δὲ τῆς δρυὸς 
βάλανον. μήτραν δὲ ἔχει φανερωτέραν ἢ ὁ 
πρῖνος" καὶ ἡ μὲν φελλόδρυς τοιαύτην τινὰ ἔχει 
φύσιν. 





1 Plin. 10. 19. See Index. 
2 βαθύτερα MSS.; εὐθύτερα conj. Dalec, 
8 Plin. dc. See Index. 


260 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvi. 1-3 


of the mistletoe. It produces the oak-mistletoe on 
the north side and the mistletoe on the south. 

The Arcadians have a tree which they call smilaz } 
(holm-oak), which resembles the kermes-oak, but 
has not spinous leaves, its leaves being softer and 
longer? and differing in several other ways. Nor 
is the wood hard and close like that of the kermes- 
oak, but quite soft to work. 

The tree which the Arcadians call ‘cork-oak ’ 3 
(holm-oak) has this character :—to put it generally, 
it is between the kermes-oak and the oak; and some 
suppose it to be the ‘ female ’ kermes-oak ; wherefore, 
where the kermes-oak does not grow, they use this 
tree for their carts and such-like purposes; for instance 
it is so used by the peoples of Lacedaemon and Elis. 
The Dorians also call the tree aria.4 Its wood is softer 
and less compact than that of the kermes-oak, but 
harder and closer than that of the oak. When it is 
barked,® the colour of the wood is paler than that of 
the kermes-oak, but redder than that of the oak. 
The leaves resemble those of both trees, but they 
are somewhat large, if we consider the tree as a 
kermes-oak, and somewhat small if we regard it as 
anoak. The fruit is smaller in size than that of the 
kermes-oak, and equal to the smallest acorns; it is 
sweeter than that of the kermes-oak, bitterer than 
that of the oak. Some call the fruit of the kermes- 
oak and of the arta ‘mast,’® keeping the name 
‘acorn’ for the fruit of the oak. It has a core which 
is more obvious than in kermes-oak. Such is the 
character of the ‘ cork-oak.’ 


4 Already described ; cf. 3. 4.2; 3.17% 1. 
δ᾽ ὉΠ. aus. Arcadia, 8. 12: 
4 axvdov: ef. Hom. Od. 10, 242, 


261 


& 


THEOPHRASTUS 


‘H δὲ , € \ ’ , ‘ 
€ κόομαρος, N TO μεμαίκυλον φέρουσα το 
25 ὃ > \ \ δ ” / \ ai Ν 
ἐδώδιμον, ἐστὶ μὲν οὐκ ἄγαν μέγα, τὸν δὲ φλοιὸν 
4 \ \ “ ’ Ἁ \ / 
ἔχει λεπτὸν μὲν παρόμοιον μυρίκῃ, TO δὲ φύλλον 
\ ΄ Ν ὃ / >? θ lal δὲ la 
μεταξὺ πρίνου καὶ δάφνης. ἀνθεῖ δὲ τοῦ Ilvave- 
val \ “ 
ψιῶνος: τὰ δὲ ἄνθη πέφυκεν ἀπὸ μιᾶς κρεμάστρας 
5.» Ὁ v 56 \ δὲ \ “ “ 
ἐπ᾿ ἄκρων βοτρυδόν: τὴν δὲ μορφὴν ἕκαστόν 
“ / / a / 
ἐστιν ὅμοιον μύρτῳ προμήκει καὶ τῷ μεγέθει δὲ 
\ a \ a “ 
σχεδὸν τηλικοῦτον: ἄφυλλον δὲ καὶ κοῖλον ὥσπερ 
\ / \ , \ 
ὠὸν ἐκκεκολαμμένον TO στόμα δὲ ἀνεῳγμένον" 
« \ , 
ὅταν © ἀπανθήσῃ, καὶ ἡ πρόσφυσις τετρύπηται, 
\ > > n ἊΝ \ [4 , 
τὸ δ᾽ ἀπανθῆσαν λεπτὸν καὶ ὥσπερ σφόνδυλος 
f x f e \ 
περὶ ἄτρακτον ἢ Kapvetos Awptkos: ὁ δὲ καρπὸς 
A / 7 ’ i al 
ἐνιαυτῷ πεπαίνεται, ὥσθ᾽ ἅμα συμβαίνει τοῦτόν 
’ \ an 
T ἔχειν Kal Tov ἕτερον ἀνθεῖν. 
, \ 
Ilapoporov δὲ τὸ φύλλον καὶ ἡ avdpayAn ἔχει 
A / 7 / 
τῷ κομάρῳ, μέγεθος οὐκ ἄγαν μέγα" Tov δὲ φλοιὸν 
“ , \ / \ 
λεῖον ἔχει Kal περιρρηγνύμενον" καρπὸν δ᾽ ἔχει 
ὅμοιον τῇ κομάρῳ. 
/ /, -“ 
“Ὅμοιον δ᾽ ἐστὶ τούτοις τὸ φύλλον καὶ τὸ τῆς 
4 \ δὲ δέ ὃ U4 v6 Ne 29, 
κοκκυγέας" TO δὲ δένδρον μικρόν. ἴδιον δὲ ἔγχει 
a Ν / a 
TO ἐκπαπποῦσθαι τὸν καρπόν! τοῦτο yap οὐδ᾽ 
359) GU2N > id vw δέ ὃ a \ 
ep ἐνὸς ἀκηκοαμεν ἄλλου δενόρου. ταῦτα μὲν 
, / / 
οὖν κοινότερα πλείοσι χώραις καὶ τόποις. 





1 Plin. 15. 98 and 99; Diosc. 1. 122. 2 October. 
3 ἐκκεκολαμμένον MV, cf. Arist. H.A. 6.33 ἐγκεκολαμμένον 
UAld. iN | al Ieee ba oes 


5 κάρνειος, an unknown word, probably corrupt; κίονος 
p Wares 5) : pt; 
δωρικοῦ conj. Sch., ‘drum of a Doric column,’ ef. Athen. 

5. 39. 


262 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xv1. 4-6 


1The arbutus, which produces the edible fruit 
called memazkylon, is not a very large tree; its bark is 
thin and like that of the tamarisk, the leaf is between 
that of the kermes-oak and that of the bay. It 
blooms in the month Pyanepsion?; the flowers grow 
in clusters at the end of the boughs from a single 
attachment; in shape each of them is like an oblong 
myrtle flower and it is of about the same size; it has 
no petals, but forms a cup like an empty eggshell, 
and the mouth is open: when the flower drops off, 
there is a hole* also through the part by which 
it is attached, and the fallen flower is delicate and 
like a whorl on a spindle or a Doric karneios.6 The 
fruit takes a year to ripen, so that it comes to pass 
that this and the new flower are on the tree 
together. 

6 The andrachne has a leaf like that of the arbutus 
and is not a very large tree; the bark is smooth? 
and cracked,§ the fruit is like that of the arbutus. 

The leaf of the wig-tree® is also like that of 
the last named tree, but it is a small tree. Peculiar 
to it is the fact that the fruit passes into down!?: 
we have not heard of such a thing in any other 
TEE. These trees are found in a good many 
positions and regions. 


*Plin.w13. 190. 

7 χεῖον conj. Sch.; λευκὸν UAld. In Pletho’s excerpt the 
passage has λεῖον, and Plin., /.c., evidently read λεῖον. 

8 περιρρηγνύμενον. Plin., /.c., seems to have read περιπήη- 
yvipevov. cf. 1.5.2; 9. 4. 3. 

9 Plin. 13.121. κοκκυγέας conj. Sch. after Plin. l.c., ef. 
Hesych. 8.0. κεκκοκυγωμένην ; κοκκομηλέας U; κοκκυμηλέας 
P,Ald. 

10 gemanmoda0as : Sructum amittere lanugine Plin. lc. ef. 
6. 8.4 


263 


THEOPHRASTUS 


XVII. “Evia δὲ ἰδιώτερα, καθάπερ καὶ ὁ φελλός: 
ίνεται μὲν ἐν Τυρρηνίᾳ, τὸ δὲ δένδρον ἐστὶ 
ry μὲν ev 'Ῥυρρηνίᾳ, δένδρον ἐστὶ στε- 
a » > A 
λεχῶδες μὲν Kal ὀλιγόκλαδον, εὔμηκες δ᾽ ἐπιεικῶς 
\ ᾽ / / ? , \ \ - \ 
καὶ evav&és: ξύλον ἰσχυρόν' τὸν δὲ φλοιὸν παχὺν 
\ 4 “ [ a ’ 
σφόδρα καὶ καταρρηγνύμενον, ὥσπερ ὁ τῆς πίτυος, 
\ δὰ / ‘\ \ / “ “- 
πλὴν κατὰ μείζω. τὸ δὲ φύλλον ὅμοιον ταῖς 
\ / 
μελίαις παχὺ προμηκέστερον' οὐκ ἀείφυλλον 
“ \ 
ἀλλὰ φυλλοβολοῦν. καρπὸν δὲ [αἰεὶ] φέρει 
a / a 
βαλανηρὸν ὅμοιον τῇ apia. περιαιροῦσι δὲ τὸν 
\ , lal / > a > \ st 
φλοιὸν καί φασι δεῖν πάντα ἀφαιρεῖν, εἰ δὲ μὴ 
a / XN / a 
χεῖρον γίνεται τὸ δένδρον: ἐξαναπληροῦται δὲ 
πάλιν σχεδὸν ἐν τρισὶν ἔτεσιν. 
Ἴδιον δὲ καὶ ἡ κολουτέα περὶ Λιπάραν: δένδρον 
\ ’ / Ν \ \ / ? - 
μὲν εὐμέγεθες, τὸν δὲ καρπὸν φέρει ἐν λοβοῖς 
’ a / x / a 
ἡλίκον φακόν, OS πιαίνει τὰ πρόβατα θαυμαστῶς. 
x a a 
φύεται δὲ ἀπὸ σπέρματος Kal ἐκ τῆς TOV προβά- 
/ / [4 \ “ ’ὔ, fod 
των κόπρου κάλλιστα. ὥρα δὲ τῆς φυτείας ἅμα 
᾿Αρκτούρῳ δυομένῳ: δεῖ δὲ φυτεύειν προβρέ 
ρκτούρῳ δυομένς ροβρέχοντας 
/ 2 a e/ / ᾽ 
ὅταν ἤδη διαφύηται ἐν τῷ ὕδατι. φύλλον δ᾽ ἔχει 
παρόμοιον τήλει. βλαστάνει δὲ τὸ πρῶτον 
/ 
μονοφυὲς ἐπὶ ἔτη μάλιστα τρία ἐν οἷς καὶ τὰς 
la] \ 
βακτηρίας τέμνουσι: δοκοῦσι yap εἶναι καλαί: 
καὶ ἐάν τις κολούσῃ ἀποθνήσκει: καὶ γὰρ ἀπα- 
, , 5 - , \ > 
ράβλαστόν ἐστιν: εἶτα σχίζεται καὶ ἀποδεν- 
δροῦται τῷ τετάρτῳ ἔτει. 





' Plin. 16. 34. 

2 τυρρηνίᾳ conj. R. Const.; πυρρηνίαι UMV; πυρρηνίᾳ Ald. 
8 αἰεὶ must be corrupt: probably repeated from ἀείφυλλον. 
+ βαλανηρὸν conj. Sch.; βαλανήφορον UMVAId. 

> apla conj. R. Const. from G ; ἀγρίᾳ P3MVAId.; ἀγρίαι U. 


264 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvi. 1-2 


Of cork-oak, kolutea, koloitia, and of certain other trees 
peculiar to particular localities. 

XVII. !1Some however are more local, such as the 
cork-oak: this occurs in Tyrrhenia?; itisa tree with 
a distinct trunk and few branches, and is fairly tall 
and of vigorous growth. The wood is strong, the 
bark very thick and cracked, like that of the Aleppo 
pine, save that the cracks are larger. The leaf is 
like that of the manna-ash, thick and somewhat 
oblong. The tree is not evergreen but deciduous. 
It has always? an acorn-like* fruit like that of 
the aria® (holm-oak). They strip off the bark,® and 
they say that it should all be removed,’ otherwise 
the tree deteriorates: it is renewed again in about 
three years. 

The kolutea® too is a local tree, occurring in the 
Lipari islands. It is a tree of good size, and bears 
its fruit, which is as large as a lentil, in pods; this 
fattens sheep wonderfully. It grows from seed, and 
also grows very well from sheep-droppings. The 
time for sowing it is the setting of Arcturus; and 
one should first soak the seed and sow it when it is 
already sprouting in the water. It has a leaf like 
telis® (fenugreek). At first it grows for about three 
years with a single stem, and in this period men cut 
their walking-sticks from it; for it seems that it 
makes excellent ones. And, if the top is cut off 
during this period, it dies, for it makes no side- 
shoots. After this period it divides, and in the 
fourth year develops into a tree. 

δ. 120.2540 16:1; Phin. 17.234. 

7 ἀφαιρεῖν conj. Coraés ; διαιρεῖν P,Ald. 

Breeds ELIS Boll. 5: 


9 τήλει conj. R. Const. from G, faeno graeco; τίλει UMV; 
τύλῃ Ald. 


265 


3 


THEOPHRASTUS 


‘H δὲ περὶ τὴν Ἴδην, ἣν καλοῦσι κολοιτίαν, 
»" . / , \ \ \ ᾽ lal Ν 
ἕτερον εἶδός ἐστιν, θαμνοειδὲς δὲ καὶ ὀξζῶδες καὶ 
πολυμάσχαλον, σπάνιον δέ, οὐ πολύ: ἔχει δὲ 
φύλλον δαφνοειδὲς πλατυφύλλου δάφνης, πλὴν 
στρογγυλώτερον καὶ μεῖζον ὥσθ᾽ ὅμοιον φαίνεσθαι 

A an / \ 
τῷ τῆς πτελέας, προμηκέστερον δέ, τὴν χρόαν 
ἐπὶ θάτερα χλοερὸν ὄπισθεν δὲ ἐπιλευκαῖνον, καὶ 
πολύϊνον ἐκ τῶν ὄπισθεν ταῖς λεπταῖς Lal ἔκ τε 
τῆς ῥάχεως καὶ μεταξὺ τῶν πλευροειδῶν ἀπὸ 
τῆς μέσης κατατεινουσῶν: φλοιὸν δ᾽ οὐ λεῖον 

᾽ a 
ἀλλ᾽ οἷον τὸν τῆς ἀμπέλου" τὸ δὲ ξύλον σκληρὸν 

, 
καὶ πυκνόν" ῥίζας dé ἐπιπολαίους καὶ λεπτὰς 
\ \ > \ ’ 3: νῷ Ν \ / 
καὶ pavas οὐλὰς δ᾽ ἐνίοτε, καὶ ξανθὰς σφόδρα. 
\ \ > ” \ 29\ », \ Ν 
καρπὸν δὲ οὐκ ἔχειν φασὶν οὐδὲ ἄνθος" τὴν δὲ 
κορυνώδη κάχρυν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοὺς παρὰ 
Ν 4 / / \ \ \ 
Ta φύλλα λείους σφόδρα καὶ λιπαροὺς καὶ 
λευκοὺς τῷ σχήματι δὲ καχρυώδεις: ἀποκοπὲν δὲ 
καὶ ἐπικαυθὲν παραφύεται καὶ ἀναβλαστάνει. 

7 ὃ \ \ 4 \ \ \ ” ὃ > , L 

Ιδια δὲ Kai τάδε τὰ περὶ THY Ἴδην ἐστίν, οἷον 
ἣἥ τε ᾿Αλεξάνδρεια καλουμένη δάφνη καὶ συκῆ τις 
καὶ ἄμπελος. τῆς μὲν οὖν δάφνης ἐν τούτῳ τὸ 
” «“ > 4 , ᾽ [κέ \ e 
ἴδιον, ὅτε ἐπιφυλλόκαρπόν ἐστιν, ὥσπερ Kal ἡ 
κεντρομυρρίνη: ἀμφότεραι γὰρ τὸν καρπὸν ἔχ- 
ουσιν ἐκ τῆς ῥάχεως τοῦ φύλλου. 

‘H δὲ συκῆ θαμνῶδες μὲν καὶ οὐχ ὑψηλόν, 
πάχος δ᾽ ἔχον ὥστε καὶ “πηχυαῖον εἶναι τὴν περί- 
[ET POV" TO δὲ ξύλον ἐπεστραμμένον γλίσχρον" 
κάτωθεν μὲν λεῖον καὶ ἄνοζον ἄνωθεν δὲ περί- 





1 κολοιτίαν (ἢ κολοιτέαν) U. οἵ. 1. 11. 2; 3.17. ὁ. Which- 
ever spelling is correct should probably be adopted in all 
three places. Aref. 8. 11:5 


266 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvir. 3-5 


The tree found about Mount Ida, called foloitia,! 
is a distinct kind and is shrubby and branching with 
many boughs; but it is rather rare. It has a leaf 
like that of the ‘broad-leaved’ bay,? but rounder 
and larger, so that it looks like that of the elm, 
but it is more oblong: the colour on both sides is 
green, but the base is whitish; in this part it is 
very fibrous, because of its fine fibres which spring 
partly from the midrib,? partly between the ribs4 
(so to call them) which run out from the midrib. 
The bark is not smooth but like that of the vine; 
the wood is hard and close, the roots are shallow 
slender and spreading, (though sometimes they are 
compact), and they are very yellow. They say that 
this shrub has no fruit nor flower, but has its knobby 
winter-bud and its ‘eyes’; these grow alongside of 
the leaves, and are very smooth glossy and white, 
and in shape are like a winter-bud. When the tree 
is cut or burnt down, it grows from the side and 
springs up again. 

There are also three trees peculiar to Mount Ida, 
the tree called Alexandrian laurel, a sort of fig, and a 
‘vine’ (currant grape). The peculiarity of the laurel 
is that it bears fruit on its leaves, like the ‘prickly 
myrtle’ (butcher’s broom): both have their fruit on 
the midrib of the leaf. 

The ‘fig’® is shrubby and not tall, but so thick 
that the stem is a cubit in circumference. The wood 
is twisted and tough; below it is smooth and un- 
branched, above it has thick foliage: the colour both 


3 ἔκ τε τῆς paxéws καὶ conj. W.; καὶ ταῖς ῥίζαις καὶ Ald. cf. 
3. 10. 3, and ἐκ τῆς ῥαχέως below, 3. 17. 4. 

4 πλευροειδῶν : πλευροειδῶς Conj. St. 

δ See Index. Plin. 15. 68; cf. Athen. 3. 11. 


267 


THEOPHRASTUS 


A a / 
κομον' χρῶμα δὲ καὶ φύλλου καὶ φλοιοῦ πελιόν, 
Ν \ lal lal / od lal lal [4 
τὸ δὲ σχῆμα τῶν φύλλων ὅμοιον τῷ τῆς φιλύρας 
Ν 
καὶ μαλακὸν καὶ πλατὺ καὶ τὸ μέγεθος παρα- 
/ A ἴω \ » a ce - 
πλήσιον: ἄνθος μεσπιλῶδες καὶ ἀνθεῖ ἅμα τῇ 
a re \ 
μεσπίλῃ. ὁ δὲ καρπός, ὃν καλοῦσι σῦκον, ἐρυθρὸς 
Cart ? / \ , > 
ἡλίκος ἐλάας πλὴν στρογγυλώτερος, ἐσθιόμενος 
\ 7 SF \ 7 / e x 
δὲ μεσπιλώδης: ῥίζας δὲ ἔχει παχείας ὡσὰν 
συκῆς ἡμέρου καὶ γλίσχρας. ἀσαπὲς δέ ἐστι τὸ 
\ 
δένδρον καὶ καρδίαν ἔχει στερεὰν οὐκ ἐντεριώνην. 
Ἥ δὲ 3 ’ὔ \ a πὸ \ \ 
€ ἄμπελος φύεται μὲν τῆς Ιδὴς περὶ Tas 
Φαλάκρας καλουμένας: ἔστι δὲ θαμνῶδες ῥαβ- 
δίοις μικροῖς" τείνονται δὲ οἱ κλῶνες ὡς πυγω- 
νιαῖοι, πρὸς οἷς ῥᾶγές εἰσιν ἐκ πλαγίου μέλαιναι 
τὸ μέγεθος ἡλίκος κύαμος γλυκεῖαι: ἔχουσι δὲ 
> \ Ags ΄ ΄ ΄ 
ἐντὸς γυγαρτῶδές τε μαλακόν: φύλλον στρογγύλον 
ἀσχιδὲς μικρόν. 
XVIII. Ἔχει δὲ καὶ τἄλλα σχεδὸν ὄρη φύσεις 
\ 0.7 \ \ / \ \ / \ > 
τινὰς ἰδίας τὰ μὲν δένδρων τὰ δὲ θάμνων τὰ ὃ 
ἄλλων ὑλημάτων. ἀλλὰ γὰρ περὶ μὲν τῆς ἰδιό- 
/ ’ 
τητος εἴρηται πλεονάκις OTL γίνεται KAO ἑκάστους 
lal lal id 
τόπους. ἡ δὲ ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς ὁμογενέσιν διαφορά, 
ἴω / lal 
καθάπερ ἡ τῶν δένδρων Kal TOV θάμνων, ὁμοίως 
“ “ a 
ἐστὶ καὶ TOV ἄλλων, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, τῶν πλείστων, 
ὥσπερ καὶ ῥάμνου καὶ παλιούρου καὶ οἴσου [καὶ 
a \ a 
οἴτου] Kal pov καὶ κιττοῦ καὶ βάτου καὶ ἑτέρων 
πολλῶν. 


1 Lit. grape-stone. 
2 I omit ἡ before διαφορά with Sch, 


268 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvir. 5—xvur. 1 


of leaf and bark is a dull green, the shape of the 
leaf is like that of the lime; it is soft and broad, 
and in size it also corresponds; the flower is like 
that of the medlar, and the tree blooms at the same 
time as that tree. The fruit, which they call a ‘fig,’ 
is red, and as large as an olive, but it is rounder 
and is like the medlar in taste; the roots are thick 
like those of the cultivated fig, and tough. The 
tree does not rot, and it has a solid heart, instead of 
ordinary heart-wood. 

The ‘vine’ (currant grape) grows about the place 
called Phalakrai in the district of Ida; it is shrubby 
with small twigs; the branches are about a cubit 
long, and attached to them at the side are black 
berries, which are the size of a bean and sweet; 
inside they have a sort of soft stone!; the leaf is 
round undivided and small 


Of the differences in various shrubs—buckthorn, withy, Christ’s 
thorn, bramble, sumach, ivy, smilax, [spindle-tree]. 


XVIII. Most other mountains too have certain 
peculiar products, whether trees shrubs or other 
woody plants. However we have several times 
remarked as to such peculiarities that they occur in 
all regions. Moreover the variation? between things 
of the same kind which we find in trees obtains also 
among shrubs and most other things, as has been 
said: for instance, we find it in buckthorn Christ’s 
thorn withy? sumach ivy bramble and many 
others, 


3 [καὶ ofrov] bracketed by W.; καὶ ἴσον Ald.; καὶ ἴσου καὶ 
οἴτου MVP; καὶ οἴσου καὶ vito. U. Only οἷσος is mentioned in 
the following descriptions. 


269 


THEOPHRASTUS 


‘Papvos τε γάρ ἐστιν ἡ μὲν μέλαινα ἡ δὲ λευκή, 
καὶ ὁ καρπὸς διάφορος, ἀκανθοφύροι δὲ ἄμφω. 

Τοῦ τε οἴσου τὸ μὲν λευκὸν τὸ δὲ μέλαν" καὶ τὸ 
ἄνθος ἑκατέρου καὶ ὁ καρπὸς κατὰ λόγον ὁ μὲν 
λευκὸς ὁ δὲ μέλας: ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ ὥσπερ ἀνὰ μέσον, 
ὧν καὶ τὸ ἄνθος ἐπιπορφυρίζει καὶ οὔτε οἰνωπὸν 
οὔτε ἔκλευκόν ἐστιν ὥσπερ τῶν ἑτέρων. ἔχει δὲ 
καὶ τὰ φύλλα λεπτότερα καὶ λειότερα καὶ τὰς 
ῥάβδους τὸ λευκόν. 

“O τε παλίουρος EXEL διαφορὰς . . «ἅπαντα, δὲ 
ταῦτα καρποφόρα. καὶ ὅ γε Tadtoupos ἐν λοβῷ 
τινί τὸν καρπὸν ἔχει καθαπερεὶ φύλλῳ, ἐν ᾧ τρία 
ἢ τέτταρα γίνεται. χρῶνται δ᾽ αὐτῷ πρὸς τὰς 
βῆχας οἱ ἰατροὶ κόπτοντες" ἔχει γάρ τινα 
γλισχρότητα καὶ λίπος, ὥσπερ τὸ τοῦ λίνου 
σπέρμα. φύεται δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐφύδροις καὶ ἐν 
τοῖς ξηροῖς, ὥσπερ ὁ βάτος. [οὐχ ἧττον δέ ἐ ἐστι 
τὸ δένδρον mapudpov.| φυλλοβόλον δὲ καὶ οὐχ 
ὥσπερ ἡ ῥάμνος ἀείφυλλον. 

"Ete δὲ καὶ τοῦ βάτου πλείω γένη, μεγίστην δὲ 
ἔχοντες διαφορὰν ὅτι ὁ μὲν ὀρθοφυὴς καὶ ὕψος 
ἔχων, ὁ δ᾽ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ εὐθὺς κάτω νεύων καὶ 
ὅταν συνάπτῃ τῇ γῇ ῥιξζούμενος πάλιν, ὃν δὴ 
καλοῦσί τινες χαμαίβατον. τὸ δὲ κυνόσβατον 
τὸν καρπὸν ὑπέρυθρον ἔχει καὶ παραπλήσιον τῷ 
τῆς ῥόας" ἔστι δὲ ,»θάμνου καὶ δένδρου μεταξὺ καὶ 
παρόμοιον ταῖς ῥύαις, τὸ δὲ φύλλον ἀκανθῶδες. 


ΤΠ OAs 5:18:.}10.. ΟΡ. ke 10: 

2 Some words are missing, which described various forms 
of παλίουρος, alluded to in πάντα ταῦτα (Sch.). ef. 4. 3. 3, 
where an African παλίουρος is described. 

3 καθαπερεὶ φύλλῳ conj. W., cf. 3. 11.25 καθάπερ τὸ φύλλον 
UMV. 

270 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvi. 2-4 


1Thus of buckthorn there is the black and the 
white form, and there is difference in the fruit, 
though both bear thorns. 

Of the withy there is a black and a white form ; 
the flower and fruit of each respectively correspond 
in colour to the name; but some specimens are, as 
it were, intermediate, the flower being purplish, and 
neither wine-coloured nor whitish as in the others. 
The leaves in the white kind are also slenderer and 
smoother, as also are the branches. 

There is variation also in the Christ’s thorn . . .? 
all these forms are fruit-bearing. Christ’s thorn has 
its fruit in a sort of pod, resembling a leaf,? which 
contains three or four seeds. Doctors bruise * them 
and use them against coughs ; for they have a certain 
viscous and oily character, like linseed. The shrub 
grows in wet and dry places alike, like the bramble.® 
But it is deciduous, and not evergreen like buckthorn. 

Of the bramble again there are several kinds, 
shewing very great variation; one is erect and tall, 
another runs along the ground and from the first 
bends downwards, and, when it touches the earth, it 
roots again; this some call the ‘ ground bramble.’ 
The ‘dog’s bramble’ (wild rose) has a reddish fruit, 
like that of the pomegranate ®; and, like the pome- 
granate, it is intermediate between a shrub and a 
tree; but the leaf is spinous.’ 

4 κόπτοντες : for the tense cf. 3. 17. 2, mpoBpéxovras. 

5 οὐχ... πάρυδρον probably a gloss, W. 

ὁ ῥόαις UMV (Ὁ) Ald.; ῥοδαῖς conj. Sch. from Plin. 16. 180. 
Athen. (2. 82) cites the passage with παραπ. τῇ foia. The 
Schol. on Theocr. 5. 92 seems to have traces of both readings. 

7 ἀκανθῶδες conj. Sch. from Schol. on Theocr. (see last note), 
which quotes the passage with ἀκανθῶδες ; ἀγνῶδες UAld.; so 
also Athen. J.c. Plin. (24. 121) seems to have read ixvades 
(vestigio hominis simile). 

21 


5 


THEOPHRASTUS 


“Τῆς δὲ ῥοῦ τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν τὸ δὲ θῆλυ καλοῦσι 
τῷ τὸ μὲν ἄκαρπον εἶναι τὸ δὲ κάρπιμον. οὐκ 
ἔχει δὲ οὐδὲ τὰς ῥάβδους ὑψηλὰς οὐδὲ παχείας, 
φύλλον δ᾽ ὅμοιον πτελέᾳ πλὴν μικρὸν προμη- 
κέστερον καὶ ἐπίδασυ. τῶν δὲ κλωνίων τῶν νέων 
ἐξ ἴσου τὰ φύλλα εἰς δύο, κατ᾽ ἄλληλα δὲ ἐκ τῶν 
πλαγίων ὥστε στοιχεῖν. βάπτουσι δὲ τούτῳ καὶ 
οἱ σκυτοδέψαι τὰ δέρματα τὰ λευκά. ἄνθος 
λευκὸν βοτρυῶδες, τῷ σχήματι δὲ τὸ ὁλοσχερὲς 
ὄστλιγγας ἔχον ὥσπερ καὶ ὁ βότρυς" ἀπανθή- 
σαντος δὲ ὁ καρπὸς ἅμα τῇ σταφύλῃ ἐρυθραίνεται, 
καὶ γίνονται οἷον φακοὶ λεπτοὶ συγκείμενοι" 
βοτρυῶδες δὲ τὸ σχῆμα καὶ τούτων. ἔχει δὲ τὸ 
φαρμακῶδες τοῦτο ὃ καλεῖται ῥοῦς ἐν αὐτῷ 
ὀστῶδες, ὃ ὃ καὶ τῆς ῥοῦ διηττημένης ἔ ἔχει, πολλάκις" 

ῥίζα δ᾽ ἐπιπόλαιος καὶ μονοφυὴς ὥστε ἀνα- 
κἀμτξεσθαι ῥᾳδίως ὁλόρριξζα'" τὸ δὲ ξύλον ἐντε- 
ριώνην ἔχει, εὔφθαρτον δὲ καὶ κοπτόμενον. ἐν 
πᾶσι δὲ γίγνεται τοῖς τόποις, εὐθενεῖ δὲ μάλιστα 
ἐν τοῖς ἀργιλώδεσι. 

Πολυειδὴς δὲ ὁ κιττός' καὶ γὰρ ἐπίγειος, ὁ δὲ 
εἰς “ὕψος αἰρόμενος" καὶ τῶν ἐν ὕψει πλείω γένη. 
τρία δ᾽ οὖν “φαίνεται τὰ μέγιστα ὅ τε λευκὸς καὶ 
ὁ μέλας καὶ τρίτον ἡ EME. εἴδη δὲ καὶ ἑκάστου 
τούτων πλείω. λευκὸς γὰρ ὁ μὲν τῷ καρπῷ 
μόνον, ὁ δὲ καὶ τοῖς φύλλοις ἐστί. πάλιν δὲ τῶν 
λευκοκάρπων μόνον ὁ μὲν ἁδρὸν καὶ πυκνὸν καὶ 
συνεστηκότα τὸν καρπὸν ἔχει καθαπερεὶ σφαῖραν, 





. Phin. ts. θα; 24. 9] 

2 oroixeiv: cf. 3. 5.3; Plin. 13. 55. 

3 βοτρυῶδες conj. W.; βοτρυηδόν U; βοτρνδόν Ald. 
4 ὁ ῥοῦς masc. cf. Diosc. 1. 108. 


272 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvin. 5-6 


1 Of the sumach they recognise a ‘male’ and a 
‘female’ form, the former being barren, the latter 
fruit-bearing. The branches are not lofty nor stout, 
the leaf is like that of the elm, but small more 
oblong and hairy. On the young shoots the leaves 
grow in pairs at equal distances apart, corresponding 
to each other on the two sides, so that they are in 
regular rows.2, Tanners use this tree for dyeing 
white leather. The flower is white and grows in 
clusters; the general form of it, with branchlets, is 
like that of the grape-bunch; when the flowering is 
over, the fruit reddens like the grape, and the 
appearance of it is like small lentils set close 
together; the form of these too is clustering.? The 
fruit contains the drug called by the same name,‘ 
which is a bony substance; it is often still found 
even when the fruit has been put through a sieve. 
The root is shallow and single, so that these trees 
are easily bent right over,® root and all. The wood 
has heart-wood, and it readily perishes and gets 
worm-eaten.® The tree occurs in all regions, but 
flourishes most in clayey soils. 

‘The ivy also has many forms; one kind grows 
on the ground, another grows tall, and of the tall- 
growing ivies there are several kinds. However the 
three most important seem to be the white the 
black and the λεία. And of each of these there are 
several forms. Of the ‘ white’ one is white only in 
its fruit, another in its leaves also. Again to take 
only white-fruited sorts, one of these has its fruit 
well formed close and compact like a ball; and this 


> 2,6. nearly uprooted by wind. 
ὁ κοπτόμενον : cf. 8. 11. 2, 3 and 5, 
7 Plin. 16. 144-147. 


273 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Δ \ lal , ᾽ ΄ 
ὃν δὴ καλοῦσί τινες κορυμβίαν, οἱ δ᾽ ᾿Αθήνῃσιν 
’ / e x > / / “ 
Αχαρνικόν. ὁ δὲ ἐλάττων διακεχυμένος ὥσπερ 
ς \ , 
καὶ ὁ μέλας" ἔχει δὲ Kal ὁ μέλας διαφορὰς ἀλλ 
, 
οὐχ ὁμοίως pavepas. 
ς , a \ 
H δὲ ἕλιξ ἐν μεγίσταις διαφοραῖς: καὶ yap 
tal / “- 7 a , 
τοῖς φύλλοις πλεῖστον διαφέρει τῇ τε μικρότητι 
καὶ τῷ γωνοειδῆ καὶ εὐρυθμότερα εἶναι" τὰ δὲ τοῦ 
κιττοῦ περιφερέστερα καὶ ἁπλᾶ: καὶ τῷ μήκει 
τῶν κλημάτων καὶ ἔτι τῷ ἄκαρπος εἶναι. δια- 
τείνονται γάρ τινες τῷ μὴ ἀποκιττοῦσθαι τῇ 
΄ \ 6. > \ \ ᾽ al an 
φύσει THY ἐλικα AANA τὴν EK τοῦ κιττοῦ τελειου- 
μένην. (εἰ δὲ πᾶσα ἀποκιττοῦται, καθάπερ τινές 
ς / x ” \ / > ” 
φασιν, ἡλικίας av εἴη καὶ διαθέσεως οὐκ εἴδους 
διαφορά, καθάπερ καὶ τῆς ἀπίου πρὸς τὴν 
\ / / 
ἀχράδα.) πλὴν τό ye φύλλον καὶ ταύτης πολὺ 
, ἴω 
διαφέρει πρὸς τὸν κιττόν. σπάνιον δὲ τοῦτο καὶ 
» ’ / b] \ “ ΄ 7 
ἐν ὀλίγοις ἐστὶν ὧστε παλαιούμενον μεταβάλλειν, 
a “- “ ᾽ 
ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῆς λεύκης καὶ τοῦ κρότωνος. εἴδη 
’ ᾽ \ / an «Ὁ. td \ \ / 
δ᾽ ἐστὶ πλείω τῆς ἕλικος, ὡς μὲν τὰ προφανέ- 
7 a © 
στατα Kal μέγιστα λαβεῖν τρία, ἥ Te χλοερὰ καὶ 
/ 
TOLWONS ἥπερ Kal πλείστη, Kal ἑτέρα ἡ λευκή, καὶ 
/ id / A \ lal / , 
τρίτη ἡ ποικίλη, ἣν δὴ καλοῦσί τινες Θρᾳκίαν. 


1 ε΄. ‘Theocr. 11]. 46: 2 Plin. 16. 145 foll. 

3 7.e. is the most ‘ distinct ’ of the ivies. 

* ef. lo Ws Diose. 2.0 179: 

δὴ 6. as an explanation of the barrenness of helix. 

δ 7.e. and so becomes fertile. 

7 διατείνονται : cf. C.P. 4.6.1. διατ. τῳ . . . apparently 
= ‘insist on the view that,” . . . but the dative is strange. 
The sentence, which is highly elliptical, is freely emended ‘Ly 


most editors. 


274 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IIL xvi. 6-8 


kind some call korymbias, but the Athenians call it the 
‘Acharnian’ ivy. Another kind is smaller and loose 
in growth like the black ivy.! There are also vari- 
ations in the black kind, but they are not so well 
marked. 

2 The helix presents the greatest differences*; the 
principal difference is in the leaves,‘ which are small 
angular and of more graceful proportions, while 
those of the ivy proper are rounder and simple; 
there is also difference in the length of the twigs, 
and further in the fact that this tree is barren. For,° 
as to the view that the felix by natural development 
turns into the ivy,® some insist’ that this is not so, 
the only true ivy according to these being that which 
was ivy from the first®; (whereas if, as some say, the 
helix invariably ὃ turns into ivy, the difference would 
be merely one of age and condition, and not of kind, 
like the difference between the cultivated and the 
wild pear). However the leaf even of the full- 
grown helix is very different from that of the ivy, 
and it happens but rarely and in a few specimens 
that in this plant a change in the leaf occurs as it 
grows older, as it does in the abele and the castor-oil 
plant.!° 11 There are several forms of the helix, of 
which the three most conspicuous and important are 
the green ‘herbaceous’ kind (which is the common- 
est), the white, and the variegated, which some call 
the ‘Thracian’ helix. Each of these appears to 


8 i.e. and helix being a distinct plant which is always 
barren. 

9 πᾶσα conj. Sch.; was Ald. 

10 Sc, as well as in zvy; cf. 1.10. 1, where this change is 
said to be characteristic of these three trees. (The rendering 
attempted of this obscure section is mainly from W.’s note.) 

11 Plin. 16. 148 foll. 


275 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἑκάστη δὲ τούτων δοκεῖ διαφέρειν" καὶ γὰρ τῆς 
χλοώδους ἡ μὲν λεπτοτέρα καὶ ταξιφυλλοτέρα 
καὶ ἔτι πυκνοφυλλοτέρα, ἡ δ᾽ ἧττον πάντα ταῦτ᾽ 
ἔχουσα. καὶ τῆς ποικίλης ἡ μὲν μεῖζον ἡ ἡ δ᾽ 
ἔλαττον τὸ φύλλον, καὶ τὴν ποικιλίαν διαὶ 
φέρουσα. ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὰ τῆς λευκῆς τῷ 
μεγέθει καὶ τῇ χροιᾷ διαφέρουσιν. εὐαυξεστάτη 
δὲ ἡ ἡ ποιώδης καὶ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον προϊοῦσα. φανερὰν 
δ᾽ εἶναί φασιν τὴν ἀποκιττουμένην οὐ μόνον τοῖς 
φύλλοις ὅτι μείζω καὶ πλατύτερα ἔχει ἀλλὰ 
καὶ τοῖς βχλαστοῖς: εὐθὺς γὰρ ὀρθοὺς ἔχει, καὶ 
οὐχ ὥσπερ ἡ ἑτέρα κατακεκαμμένη, καὶ διὰ τὴν 
λεπτότητα καὶ διὰ τὸ μῆκος" τῆς δὲ κιττώδους 
καὶ βραχύτεροι καὶ παχύτεροι. καὶ ὁ κιττὸς 
ὅταν ἄρχηται σπερμοῦσθαι μετέωρον ἔχει καὶ 
ὀρθὸν τὸν βλαστόν. 

Πολύρριζος μὲν οὖν ἅπας κιττὸς καὶ πυκνόρρι- 
ζος συνεστραμμένος ταῖς ῥίζαις καὶ ξυλώδεσι καὶ 
παχείαις καὶ οὐκ ἄγαν βαθύρριζος, μάλιστα δ᾽ ὁ 
μέλας, καὶ τοῦ λευκοῦ ὁ τραχύτατος καὶ ἀγριώ- 
τατος" δι᾽ ὃ καὶ χαλεπὸς παραφύεσθαι πᾶσι τοῖς 
δένδροις" ἀπόλλυσι γὰρ πάντα καὶ ἀφαναίνει 
παραιρούμενος τὴν τροφήν. λαμβάνει δὲ μάλιστα 
πάχος οὗτος καὶ ᾿ ἀποδενδροῦται καὶ γίνεται αὐτὸ 
καθ᾽ αὑτὸ κιττοῦ δένδρον. ὡς δ᾽ ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖον 
εἶναι πρὸς ἑτέρῳ φιλεῖ καὶ ζητεῖ καὶ ὥσπερ 
10 ἐπαλλόκαυλόν ἐστιν. ἔχει δ᾽ εὐθὺς καὶ τῆς 


1 ταξιφυλλοτέρα conj. W. from Plin. 16. 149, folia in 
ordinem digesta ; 3 μακροφυλλοτέρα MSS. of. 1. 10. 8. 

τ κατακεκαμμένη conj. W.; κατακεκαυμένη UAId.; κατακεκαμ- 
μένους conj. Sch. 

3 κιττώδους MSS.; ποώδους conj. St. © efiCeP. 116. 4. 


276 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvi. 8-10 


present variations ; of the green one form is slenderer 
and has more regular! and also closer leaves, the 
other has all these characteristics in a less degree. 
Of the variegated kind again one sort has a larger, 
one a smaller leaf, and the variegation is variable. 
In like manner the various forms of the white helix 
differ in size and colour. The ‘herbaceous’ kind is 
the most vigorous and covers most space. They say 
that the form which is supposed to turn into ivy is 
clearly marked not only by its leaves, because they 
are larger and broader, but also by its shoots; for 
these are straight from the first, and this form does 
not bend over? like the other; also because the 
shoots are slenderer and larger, while those of the 
ivy-like? form are shorter and stouter. ‘The ivy 
too, when it begins to seed, has its shoots upward- 
growing and erect. 

All ivies have numerous close roots, which are 
tangled together woody and stout, and do not run 
very deep; but this is specially true of the black 
kind and of the roughest and wildest forms of the 
white. Wherefore it is mischievous to plant this 
against any tree; for it destroys and starves any 
tree by withdrawing the moisture. This form also 
more than the others grows stout and becomes tree- 
like, and in fact becomes itself an independent ivy 
tree, though in general it likes and seeks to be® 
against another tree, and is, as it were, parasitic.® 
™Moreover from the first it has also this natural 


5 εἶναι conj. W.; αἰεὶ UM; ἀεὶ Ald. 

6 5,6. depends on another tree; not, of course, in the 
strict botanical sense. cf. 3. 18. 11. ἐπαλλόκαυλον conj. 
Scal.; ἐπαυλόκαλον MVAId.U (with v corrected). ef. περι- 
αλλόκαυλος, 7. 8.1; C.P. 2. 18. 2, 

7 Plin. 16. 152, 


277 


11 


THEOPHRASTUS 


/ / cal ᾽ \ -“ “ , , 
φύσεώς τι τοιοῦτον: ἐκ yap τῶν βλαστῶν ἀφίησιν 
See\ δ DN / a / e > ΄ 
ἀεὶ ῥίζας ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν φύλλων, αἷσπερ ἐνδύεται 

“ / \ a 
τοῖς δένδροις καὶ τοῖς τειχίοις οἷον ἐξεπίτηδες 

7 ς Ν lal 4 bee. Ν ᾽ ,ὔ 
πεποιημέναις ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως" δι᾽ ὃ καὶ ἐξαιρού- 
\ e Ν ee > 
μενος τὴν ὑγρότητα Kal ἕλκων ἀφαυαίνει, Kal ἐὰν 
“ / rt 7 A 
ἀποκοπῇ κάτωθεν δύναται διαμένειν καὶ ζῆν. 
» \ / \ \ 
ἔχει δὲ καὶ ἑτέραν διαφορὰν κατὰ τὸν καρπὸν οὐ 
, e \ \ > ὧδ / BI ς \ , 
μικράν' ὁ μὲν yap ἐπίγλυκύς ἐστιν ὁ δὲ σφόδρα 
\ \ fal lal Ν nr 7, A 
πικρὸς καὶ τοῦ A€VKOV καὶ τοῦ μέλανος" σημεῖον 
SF ee \ \ 5 , e ” \ ’ ” 
δ᾽ ὅτι τὸν μὲν ἐσθίουσιν ot ὄρνιθες τὸν δ᾽ ov. 
\ \ o 
τὰ μὲν οὖν περὶ TOV κιττὸν οὕτως ἔχει. 
“ \ is ΄ 

‘H δὲ σμῖλάξ ἐστι μὲν ἐπαλλόκαυλον, ὁ δὲ 

\ > / \ ef ’ / \ 
καυλὸς ἀκανθώδης καὶ ὥσπερ ὀρθάκανθος, τὸ 

\ 7 lal \ ’ / \ \ 
δὲ φύλλον κιττῶδες μικρὸν ἀγώνιον, κατὰ τὴν 

, ’ / lo δ᾽ Ὡ / 
μίσχου πρόσφυσιν τυληρὸν. ἴδιον δ᾽ ὅτι THY TE 

γ΄, , ξκκΚ'ὶ 
διὰ μέσου ταύτην ὥσπερ ῥάχιν λεπτὴν ἔχει 

Ν \ / ὃ Z, ᾽ > \ / 
Kal τὰς στημονίους διαλήψεις οὐκ ἀπὸ ταύτης, 
.“ \ n » > \ \ > \ an 
ὥσπερ TA τῶν ἄλλων, ἀλλὰ περὶ αὑτὴν περιφερεῖς 

’ Ν n / “ 7 an 
ἠγμένας ἀπὸ τῆς προσφύσεως τοῦ μίσχου τῷ 

/ \ \ a a \ / \ 
φύλλῳ. παρὰ δὲ τοῦ καυλοῦ τὰ γόνατα Kal 

\ / \ \ a a 
Tapa Tas διαλείψεις Tas φυλλικὰς ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν 
val / / » 
μίσχων τοῖς φύλλοις παραπέφυκεν ἴουλος λεπτὸς 

Ν « , ” \ \ \ , A ἡ 

καὶ ἑλικτός: ἄνθος δὲ λευκὸν καὶ εὐῶδες λείρινον" 





1 σμῖλαξ:  μῖλαξ W. οἵ. 1. 10. 5; Plin. 16. 153-155. 

2 ἐπαλλόκαυλον conj. Sch.; ἐπαυλόκαυλον V. cf. 3. 18. 10. 
3 καυλὸς conj. R. Const.; καρπὸς UMVAId. 

4 rudAnpdv conj. W.; νοτηρόν Ald.U (corrected). 

5 ταύτην: cf. τὸ θυλακῶδες τοῦτο, 3. 7. 3. Is the pronoun 


278 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvii. 10-11 


characteristic, that it regularly puts forth roots from 
the shoots between the leaves, by means of which 
it gets a hold of trees and walls, as if these roots 
were made by nature on purpose. Wherefore also 
by withdrawing and drinking up the moisture it 
starves its host, while, if it is cut off below, it is able 
to survive and live. There are also other not incon- 
siderable differences in the fruit; both in the white 
and in the black kind it is in some cases rather 
sweet, in others extremely bitter ; in proof whereof 
birds eat one but not the other. Such are the 
facts about ivy. 

The smilax! is parasitic,? but its stem? is thorny 
and has, as it were, straight thorns; the leaf is ivy- 
like small and without angles, and makes a callus‘ 
at the junction with the stalk. A peculiarity of 
it is its conspicuous® slender midrib, so to call it, 
which divides it in two; also the fact that the 
thread-like branchings ® do not start from this, as in 
other leaves, but are carried in circles round it, 
starting from the junction of the leaflet with the 
leaf. And at the joints of the stem’ and the 
spaces between the leaves there grows from the 
same stalk as the leaves a fine spiral tendril.* The 
flower is white and fragrant like a lily? The fruit 


deictic, referring to an actual specimen shewn in lecture? 
cf. also 4. 7. 1. 

ὁ διαλήψεις Ald.; διαλείψεις UMV. A mistake probably 
due to διαλείψεις below, where it is right. διάληψις is the 
Aristotelian word for a ‘division.’ 

7 χοῦ καυλοῦ τὰ γόνατα conj. Sch.; τὸν καυλὸν τὸν ἄτονον Ald. 

8 This must be the meaning of ἴουλος here, qualified by 
ἑλικτός ; but elsewhere it=catkin. cf. 3. 5. 5. 

9 relpwov conj. R. Const. from Plin. l.c. olente lilium ; 
ἠρινόν UAId. 


279 


12 


13 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ a a 
τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ἔχει προσεμφερῆ τῷ στρύχνῳ Kal 
a ΄ \ / “ / tal 
τῷ μηλώθρῳ καὶ μάλιστα TH καλουμένῃ σταφυλῇ 
/ ᾽ ’ al 
ἀγρίᾳ: κατακρέμαστοι δ᾽ οἱ βότρυες κιττοῦ τρό- 
7, ε 
mov: παρεγγίζει δ᾽ ὁ παραθριγκισμὸς πρὸς τὴν 
΄ \ \ \ - 
σταφυλήν: ἀπὸ γὰρ ἑνὸς σημείου οἱ μίσχοι οἱ 
ῥαγικοί. ὁ δὲ καρπὸς ἐρυθρός, ἔχων πυρῆνας τὸ 
μὲν ἐπὶ πᾶν δύο, ἐν τοῖς μείζοσι τρεῖς ἐν δὲ τοῖς 
Wee x 4. ee A * ΄, \ A 
μικροῖς ἕνα: σκληρὸς δ᾽ ὁ πυρὴν εὖ μάλα Kal τῷ 
/ / ” »” \ \ lal 4 
χρώματι μέλας ἔξωθεν. ἴδιον δὲ τὸ τῶν βοτρύων, 
¢ / 
OTL ἐκ πλαγίων TE TOV καυλὸν παραθριγκίζουσιν, 
« i / rn ΄- 
καὶ κατ᾽ ἄκρον ὁ μέγιστος βότρυς τοῦ καυλοῦ, 
ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῆς ῥάμνου καὶ τοῦ βάτου. τοῦτο δὲ 
fal , , 
δῆλον ὡς καὶ ἀκρόκαρπον καὶ πλαγιόκαρπον. 
> / ’ὔ 
[Τὸ δ᾽ εὐώνυμος καλούμενον δένδρον φύεται μὲν 
’ a nm δ4, rn 
ἄλλοθί τε καὶ τῆς Λέσβου ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ ᾿Ορδύν- 
/ 
vw καλουμένῳ" ἔστι δὲ ἡλίκον ῥόα Kal TO φύλλον 
a “ \ 
ἔχει ῥοῶδες, μεῖζον δὲ ἢ χαμαιδάφνης, καὶ μαλα- 
ἣς \ “ e ee id Ν ’ A 
κὸν δὲ ὥσπερ ἡ poa. ἡ δὲ βχλάστησις ἄρχεται 
\ > a \ οἷ La) > -" \ a 
μὲν αὐτῷ περὶ τὸν ἸΠοσειδεῶνα: ἀνθεῖ δὲ τοῦ 
= \ Ν Ψ Ὁ Ἁ Ud a a 
ἦρος" τὸ δὲ ἄνθος ὅμοιον THY χρόαν τῷ λευκῷ 
” yv \ \ “ , ς Ν Ν 
iw: ὄζει δὲ δεινὸν ὥσπερ φόνου. ὁ δὲ καρπὸς 
’ Ἁ Ν \ \ a 4, an “-“ 
ἐμφερὴς τὴν μορφὴν μετὰ τοῦ κελύφους τῷ τοῦ 
σησάμου λοβῷ: ἔνδοθεν δὲ στερεὸν πλὴν διηρη- 
ἘΝ \ a 
μένον κατὰ τὴν τετραστοιχίαν. τοῦτο ἐσθιό- 





1 , Presumably σ. ὁ ἐδώδιμος. See Index. 
3 παρεγγίζει δ᾽ ὃ παραθριγκισμὸς I con). .» Cf. παραθριγκίζουσι 
below ; παρωγγύζει δὲ παραθρινακίζει δὲ ὡς Us; παραγγίζει δὲ 
παραθρηνακίζει δὲ ὡς MV; παραθριγκίζει δὲ ὡς conj. W. 


280 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, III. xvi. 11-13 


is like the strykhnos! and the melothron (bryony), 
and most of all like the berry which is called the 
‘wild grape’ (bryony). The clusters hang down as 
in the ivy, but the regular setting” of the berries 
resembles the grape-cluster more closely; for the 
stalks which bear the berries start from a single 
point. The fruit is red, having generally two stones, 
the larger ones three and the smaller one; the 
stone is very hard and in eolour black outside. A 
peculiarity of the clusters is that they make a row ὃ 
along the sides of the stalk, and the longest cluster 
is at the end of the stalk, as in the buckthorn and 
the bramble. It is clear that the fruit is produced 
both at the end and at the sides. 

4 The tree called the spindle-tree > grows, among 
other places, in Lesbos, on the mountain called 
Ordynnos.6 It is as large as the pomegranate and 
has a leaf like that of that tree, but larger than that 
of the periwinkle,’ and soft, like the pomegranate 
leaf. It begins to shoot about the month Poseideon,® 
and flowers in the spring; the flower in colour is 
like the gilliflower, but it has a horrible smell, like 
shed blood.? The fruit, with its case, is like the 
pod of sesame 10 ; inside it is hard, but it splits easily 
according to its four divisions. This tree, if eaten 

3 παραθριγκίζουσιν conj. Sch.; παραθρυγκίζουσαν U (cor- 
rected) ; παραθρυγγίζουσι M 

4 This section down to the word ἀνόχῳ is clearly out of 
place : εὐώνυμος was not one of the plants proposed for dis- 
cussion 3. 18. 1. It should come somewhere among the 
descriptions of trees characteristic of special localities. 

& Pim. 13.108: © cf. Plim: 5.140: 

7 This irrelevant comparison probably indicates confusion 
in the text, as is shewn also by Pletho’s excerpt of part of 


this section: see Sch. 
8 January. 9 φόνον: cf. 6. 4. 6. rh (eh tong) ἄν δὲ. 


281 


THEOPHRASTUS 


μενον ὑπὸ τῶν προβάτων ἀποκτιννύει, καὶ τὸ 
φύλλον καὶ ὁ καρπός, καὶ μάλιστα τὰς αἶγας 
ἐὰν μὴ καθάρσεως τύχῃ. καθαίρεται δὲ ἀν- 
όχῳ.] περὶ μὲν οὖν δένδρων. καὶ θάμνων 
εἴρηται" ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἑξῆς περὶ τῶν λειπομένων 
λεκτέον. 


282 


BNQUIRY INTO PLANTS, 111. xyni 13 


by sheep, is fatal1 to them, both the leaf and the 
fruit, and it is especially fatal to goats unless they 
are purged by it; and the purging is effected by 
diarrhoea.? So we have spoken of trees and 
shrubs; in what follows we must speak of the 
plants which remain. 


1 In Pletho’s excerpt (see above) this is said of periwinkle. 
2.2.6. and not by vomiting. 


283 


εὐ ihe Pe ancnesaNr ΠΣ ΠΣ ΝΣ 
μι: 7} where a 


rey Ἢ a # 
τῶ Ἵν ᾿ 

: . * i 
ie _y iy ut PA ἣν We ὯΝ poly Ν oe 


oe eee Pie ᾿ ἯΙ 


bia hay ia hina.¢) eid) ἐνόσῳ yivey Jen nth 9.5 nt 
τ ον yd teu bad “1.8 





ἐξα) ᾿ 


᾿ ; 7 os 
eee eT ΔΝ 
a oe? a 





BOOK IV 


A 


¢ A 9 n ᾿ cal , 
Ι. Αἱ μὲν οὖν διαφοραι τῶν ὁμογενῶν τεθεώ- 
/ > “ > / 
ρηνται πρότερον. ἅπαντα δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις 
/ / / \ a ᾽ a \ 
τόποις καλλίω γίνεται καὶ μᾶλλον εὐσθενεῖ: καὶ 
\ an / > / a 
yap τοῖς ἀγρίοις εἰσὶν ἑκάστοις οἰκεῖοι, καθάπερ 
a ς / \ \ \ - \ > 4 
τοῖς ἡμέροις" τὰ μὲν yap φιλεῖ τοὺς ἐφύδρους 
ἈΝ Ψψ' ,ὔ - » / ’ / AY ef. \ 
καὶ ἑλώδεις, οἷον αἰγειρος λεύκη LTEA καὶ ὅλως τὰ 
\ \ \ / \ A \ 

Tapa TOUS ποταμοὺς φυόμενα, τὰ δὲ TOUS εὐσκε- 
a \ > / \ \ na \ / 
πεῖς καὶ EUNALOUS, τὰ δὲ μᾶλλον τοὺς παλισκίους. 

ee \ \ lal , / \ 
πεύκη μὲν yap ἐν τοῖς προσείλοις καλλίστη καὶ 
, \ lal / ¢ > / 
μεγίστη, ἐν δὲ τοῖς παλισκίοις ὅλως οὐ φύεται: 
al / 
ἐλάτη δὲ ἀνάπαλιν ἐν τοῖς παλισκίοις καλλίστη 
a b) ΩΡ « 
τοῖς δ᾽ εὐείλοις οὐχ ὁμοίως. 
’ » / fal N \ / 
Ἐν Apkadia γοῦν περὶ τὴν Κράνην καλου- 
μένην τόπος ἐστί τις κοῖλος καὶ ἄπνους, εἰς ὃν 
/ > of / 
οὐδέποθ᾽ ὅλως ἥλιον ἐμβάλλειν φασίν: ἐν τούτῳ 
\ \ 7 Gr 5 / \ fal Y 4 
δὲ πολὺ διαφέρουσιν ai ἐλάται Kal TO μήκει Kal 
ων / \ € , ’ ’ lal 
τῷ πάχει, οὐ μὴν ὁμοίως γε πυκναὶ οὐδ᾽ ὡραῖαι 
᾽ © a “ 
arr ἥκιστα, καθάπερ καὶ αἱ πεῦκαι αἱ ἐν τοῖς 
᾽ > ἃ \ \ \ fal lal 
παλισκίοις: Ob ὃ Kal πρὸς τὰ πολυτελῆ τῶν 
» * / \ » ” a 
ἔργων, οἷον θυρώματα καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο σπουδαῖον, 
3 Lal / \ \ \ ’ 
οὐ χρῶνται τούτοις ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ναυπηγίας 
cr \ \ > \ 
μᾶλλον Kal τὰς οἰκοδομάς" Kal yap δοκοὶ κάλλι- 


286 


BOOK IV 


Or THE TREES AND PLANTS SPECIAL TO PARTICULAR 
DISTRICTS AND POSITIONS. 


Of the importance of position and climate. 


I. Tue differences between trees of the same kind 
have already been considered. Now all grow fairer 
and are more vigorous in their proper positions ; for 
wild, no less than cultivated trees, have each their 
own positions: some love wet and marshy ground, as 
black poplar abele willow, and in general those that 
grow by rivers; some love exposed! and sunny 
positions; some prefer a shady place. The fir is 
fairest and tallest in a sunny position, and does not 
grow at all in a shady one; the silver-fir on the 
contrary is fairest in a shady place, and not so 
vigorous in a sunny one. 

Thus there is in Arcadia near the place called 
Krane a low-lying district sheltered from wind, into 
which they say that the sun never strikes; and in 
this district the silver-firs excel greatly in height and 
stoutness, though they have not such close grain 
nor such comely wood, but quite the reverse,—like 
the fir when it grows in a shady place. Where- 
fore men do not use these for expensive work, such 
as doors or other choice articles, but rather for 
ship-building and house-building. For excellent 


1 εὐσκεπεῖς should mean ‘sheltered,’ but cannot in this 
context, nor in C.P. 1. 13. 11 and 12: the word seems to 
have been confused with εὔσκοποϑ. 


287 


THEOPHRASTUS 


σται καὶ τανεῖαι Kal κέραιαι αἱ ἐκ τούτων, éTt δ᾽ 
ἱστοὶ τῷ μήκει διαφέροντες ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὁμοίως 
ἰσχυροί: καὶ ἐ ἐκ τῶν προσείλων ἅμα τῇ βραχύτητι 
πυκνότεροί τε ἐκείνων καὶ ἰσχυρότεροι γίνονται. 

Χαίρει δὲ σφόδρα καὶ ἡ μίλος τοῖς παλισκίοις 
καὶ ἡ πάδος καὶ ἡ ᾿θραύπαλος. mepl δὲ Tas 
κορυφὰς τῶν ὀρέων καὶ τοὺς ψυχροὺς τόπους θυία 
μὲν φύεται καὶ εἰς ὕψος, ἐλάτη δὲ καὶ ἄρκευθος 
φύεται μὲν οὐκ εἰς ὕψος δέ, καθάπερ καὶ περὶ τὴν 
ἄκραν Κυλλήνην: φύεται δὲ καὶ ἡ κήλαστρος 
ἐπὶ τῶν ἄκρων καὶ χειμεριωτάτων. ταῦτα μὲν 
οὖν ἄν τις θείη φιλόψυχρα" τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλα πάντα 
ὡς εἰπεῖν [οὐ] μᾶλλον χαίρει τοῖς προσείλοις. 
οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο συμβαίνει κατὰ τὴν 
χώραν τὴν οἰκείαν ἑκάστῳ τῶν δένδρων. ἐν 
Κρήτῃ γοῦν φασιν ἐν τοῖς ᾿Ιδαίοις ὄρεσι καὶ ἐν τοῖς 
Λευκοῖς καλουμένοις ἐπὶ τῶν ἄκρων ὅθεν οὐδέποτ᾽ 
ἐπιλείπει χιὼν κυπάριττον εἶναι: πλείστη γὰρ 
αὕτη τῆς ὕλης καὶ ὅλως ἐν τῇ νήσῳ καὶ ἐν τοῖς 
ὄρεσιν. 

Ἔστι δέ, ὥ ὥσπερ καὶ πρότερον. εἴρηται, καὶ τῶν 
ἀγρίων καὶ τῶν ἡμέρων τὰ μὲν ὀρεινὰ τὰ δὲ 
πεδεινὰ μᾶλλον. ἀναλογίᾳ δὲ καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς 
ὄρεσι τὰ μὲν ἐν τοῖς ὑποκάτω τὰ δὲ περὶ τὰς 
κορυφάς, ὥστε καὶ καλλίω γίνεται καὶ εὐσθενῆ 
πανταχοῦ δὲ καὶ πάσης τῆς ὕλης πρὸς βορρᾶν 
τὰ ξύλα πυκνότερα καὶ οὐλότερα καὶ ἁπλῶς 
καλλίω: καὶ ὅλως δὲ πλείω ἐν τοῖς προσβορείοις 
φύεται. αὐξάνεται δὲ καὶ ἐπιδίδωσι τὰ πυκνὰ 








11 omit ai before κέραιαι with P. 
2 ἅμα I conj.; ἀλλὰ Ald.; om. W. after Sch.; ἀλλ᾽ ἅμα 
conj. St. 


288 








ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV.1. 2-4 


rafters beams and yard-arms! are made from these, 
and also masts of great length which are not however 
equally strong ; while masts made of trees grown in 
a sunny place are necessarily? short but of closer 
grain and stronger than the others. 

Yew pados and joint-fir rejoice exceedingly in 
shade. On mountain tops and in cold positions 
odorous cedar grows even to a height, while silver-fir 
and Phoenician cedar grow, but not to a height,— 
for instance on the top of Mount Cyllene ; and holly 
also grows in high and very wintry positions. These 
trees then we may reckon as cold-loving; all others, 
one may say in general, prefer a sunny position. 
However this too depends partly on the soil appro- 
priate to each tree; thus they say that in Crete on 
the mountains of Ida and on those called the White 
Mountains the cypress is found on the peaks whence 
the snow never disappears ; for this is the principal 
tree both in the island generally and in the moun- 
tains. 

Again, as has been said 8 already, both of wild and 
of cultivated trees some belong more to the moun- 
tains, some to the plains. And on the mountains 
themselves in proportion to the height some grow 
fairer * and more vigorous in the lower regions, some 
about the peaks. However it is true of all trees 
anywhere that with a north aspect the wood is 
closer and more compact?® and better generally; and, 
generally speaking, more trees grow in positions 
facing the north. Again trees which are close 


$3. 2. 4. 

4 Something seems to have dropped out before ὥστε. 

5 οὐλότερα conj. W. from mutilated word in Ὁ; καλλιώτερα 
MV; καλλίω Ald. 


289 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ y - ’ a γ) A \ Mv \ 
μὲν ὄντα μᾶλλον εἰς μῆκος, δι᾿ ὃ Kal ἄνοξα καὶ 
n / A 
εὐθέα καὶ ὀρθοφυῆ γίνεται, καὶ κωπεῶνες ἐκ 
\ \ lal 
τούτων κάλλιστοι: «τὰ δὲ pava> μᾶλλον εἰς 
’ a ΄ 
βάθος καὶ πάχος, δι ὃ καὶ σκολιώτερα καὶ 
οὗ δον ΄ , 
ὀζωδέστερα Kal TO ὅλον TTEPEWTEPA καὶ TUKVOTEPA 
φύεται. 
\ \ \ ᾽ Ν ” ὃ \ / 
Σχεδὸν δὲ τὰς αὐτὰς ἔχει διαφορὰς τούτοις 
a / al / 
Kal ἐν τοῖς παλισκίοις καὶ ἐν τοῖς εὐείλοις καὶ ἐν 
a , \ , ’ / \ 
τοῖς ἀπνόοις Kal εὐπνόοις: ὀζωδέστερα yap Kal 
/ \ - 
βραχύτερα καὶ ἧττον εὐθέα τὰ ἐν τοῖς εὐείλοις 
a / ef \ δ an 
ἢ τοῖς προσηνέμοις. ὅτι δὲ ἕκαστον ζητεῖ καὶ 
- Se fal 
χώραν οἰκείαν καὶ κρᾶσιν ἀέρος φανερὸν τῷ τὰ 
’ \ \ \ / 
μὲν φέρειν ἐνίους τόπους τὰ δὲ μὴ φέρειν μήτε 
, he 
αὐτὰ γιγνόμενα μήτε φυτευόμενα ῥᾳδίως, ἐὰν δὲ 
a ῇ a 
Kal ἀντιλάβηται μὴ καρποφορεῖν, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ 
al > , 
φοίνικος ἐλέχθη καὶ τῆς Αἰγυπτίας συκαμίνου 
Ν / ’ 
καὶ ἄλλων: εἰσὶ γὰρ πλείω καὶ ἐν πλείοσι χώραις 
\ \ a > / Ἀ δὲ ’ \ 
τὰ μὲν ὅλως ov φυόμενα τὰ δὲ φυόμενα μὲν 
» an \ ἡ. \ Nie: al \ 
ἀναυξῆ δὲ καὶ ἄκαρπα καὶ τὸ ὅλον φαῦλα. περὶ 
/ > 4 e Ψ 
ὧν ἴσως λεκτέον ἐφ᾽ ὅσον ἔχομεν ἱστορίας. 
II. ᾽Εν Αἰγύπτῳ γάρ ἐστιν ἴδια δένδρα πλείω, 
/ 
ἥ TE συκάμινος καὶ ἡ περσέα καλουμένη καὶ ἡ 
/ \ δ 9 App 88 pee | 
βάλανος καὶ ἡ ἄκανθα καὶ ἕτερ᾽ ἄττα. 
\ / / a 
Ἔστι δὲ ἡ μὲν συκάμινος παραπλησία πως TH 
rn , \ N Ν / / 
ἐνταῦθα συκαμίνῳ" καὶ γὰρ τὸ φύλλον παρόμοιον 





1 κωπεῶνες : cf. ὅ. 1. 7. 3 τὰ δὲ μανὰ add. W. 

ef as 1.8: £122 22/40, 

δ ὅλως... wevconj. W.; ὅλως οὐ φυτευόμενα U; ὅλως φυτευό- 
μενα MVPAId, 


290 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV.1. 4-1. 1 


together grow and increase more in height, and so 
become unbranched straight and erect, and the vest 
oar-spars! are made from these, while those that 
grow far apart? are of greater bulk and denser 
habit?; wherefore they grow less straight and with 
more branches, and in general have harder wood and 
a closer grain. 

Such trees exhibit nearly the same differences, 
whether the position be shady or sunny, windless or 
windy; for trees growing in a sunny or windy 
position are more branched shorter and less straight. 
Further that each tree seeks an appropriate position 
and climate is plain from the fact that some districts 
bear some trees but not others; (the latter do not 
grow there of their own accord, nor can they easily 
be made to grow), and that, even if they obtain a 
hold, they do not bear fruit—as was said‘ of the 
date-palm the sycamore and others; for there are 
many trees which in many places either do not grow 
at all, οὐ," if they do, do not thrive nor bear fruit, 
but are in general of inferior quality. And perhaps 
we should discuss this matter, so far as our enquiries 
go. 

Of the trees special to Egypt, and of the carob. 


11. © Thus in Egypt there are a number of trees 
which are peculiar’ to that country, the sycamore 
the tree called persea the balanos the acacia and 
some others. 

Now the sycamore to a certain extent resembles 
the tree which bears that name ὃ in our country ; its 


§ Plin. 13. 56 and 57. 
* ἴδια conj. R. Const.; ἔνια Ald. 
δ 2,6. mulberry. See Index. 


201 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἔχει Kal τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τὴν ὅλην πρόσοψιν, τὸν 
δὲ καρπὸν ἰδίως φέρει παρὰ τὰ ἄλλα, καθάπερ 
ἐλέχθη καὶ ἐν τοῖς εξ ἀρχῆς" οὐ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν 
βλαστῶν οὐδ᾽ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀκρεμόνων ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ 
στελέχους, μέγεθος μὲν ἡλίκον σῦκον καὶ τῇ ὄψει 
δὲ παραπλήσιον, τῷ χυλῷ δὲ καὶ τῇ γλυκύτητι 
τοῖς ὀλύνθοις, πλὴν γλυκύτερον πολὺ καὶ κεγ- 
χραμίδας ὅλως οὐκ ἔχοντα, πλήθει δὲ πολύν. 
καὶ πέττειν οὐ δύναται μὴ ἐπικνισθέντα" ἀλλ᾽ 
ἔχοντες ὄνυχας σιδηροῦς ἐπικνίξουσιν' ἃ δ᾽ ἂν 
ἐπικνισθῇ τεταρταῖα πέττεται' τούτων δ᾽ ἀφαι- 
ρεθέντων πάλιν ἄλλα φύεται καὶ ἄλλα καὶ ἐκ 
τοῦ αὐτοῦ τόπου μηδὲν παραλλάττοντα: καὶ 
τοῦθ᾽ οἱ μὲν τρὶς οἱ δὲ πλεονάκις φασὶ γίνεσθαι. 
πολύοπον δὲ τὸ δένδρον σφόδρα ἐστὶ καὶ τὸ ξύλον 
αὐτοῦ εἰς πολλὰ χρήσιμον. ἴδιον δὲ ἔχειν δοκεῖ 
παρὰ τἄλλα: τμηθὲν γὰρ εὐθὺς χλωρόν ἐστι" 
αὐαίνεται δὲ ἐμβύθιον' εἰς βόθρον δὲ ἐμβάλλουσι 
καὶ εἰς τὰς λίμνας εὐθὺς καὶ ταριχεύουσι' 
βρεχόμενον δ᾽ ἐν τῷ βυθῷ ξηραίνεται" καὶ ὅταν 
τελέως ξηρὸν γένηται, τότε ἀναφέρεται καὶ ἐπινεῖ 
καὶ δοκεῖ τότε καλῶς τεταριχεῦσθαι: γίνεται γὰρ 
κοῦφον καὶ μανόν. ἡ μὲν οὖν συκάμινος ἔχει 
ταύτας τὰς ἰδιότητας. 

ἼΒοικε δέ τις παραπλησία ἡ φύσις εἶναι καὶ 
τῆς ἐν Κρήτῃ καλουμένης Κυπρίας συκῆς" καὶ 
γὰρ ἐκείνη, φέρει τὸν καρπὸν ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους 
καὶ ἐκ τῶν παχυτάτων ἀκρεμόνων, πλὴν ὅτι 
βλαστόν τινα ἀφίησι μικρὸν ἄφυλλον ὥσπερ 
ῥιζίον, πρὸς ᾧ γε ὁ καρπός. τὸ δὲ στέλεχος μέγα 

Mids ef ie: 
2 of. CP. 1.. 17° SP Dies. 9274" Athen. 2. 36. This 
292 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. π΄ 1-3 


leaf is similar, its size, and its general appearance ; 
but it bears its fruit in a quite peculiar manner, as 
was said at the very outset}; it is borne not on the 
shoots or branches, but on the stem; in size it is as 
large as a fig, which it resembles also in appearance, 
but in flavour and sweetness it is like the ‘immature 
figs,’ except that it is much sweeter and contains 
absolutely no seeds, and it is produced in large 
numbers. It cannot ripen unless it is scraped; but 
they scrape it with iron ‘claws’?; the fruits thus 
scraped ripen in four days. If these are removed, 
others and others again grow from exactly the same 
point, and this some say occurs three times over, 
others say it can happen more times than that. 
Again the tree is very full of sap, and its wood is 
useful for many purposes. ‘There is another peculiar 
property which it appears to possess; when it is 
cut, it is at first green, but it dries in deep water ® ; 
they put it at once in a hole or in pools and so season 
it; and it becomes dry by being soaked in the deep 
water, and when it is completely dry, itis fetched up 
and floats and is then thought to be duly seasoned ; 
for it is now light and porous. Such are the 
peculiarities of the sycamore. 

Somewhat similar appears to be the character of 
the tree which in Crete is called the ‘Cyprian fig ’+ 
(sycamore). For this also bears its fruit on the stem 
and on the thickest branches ; but in this case there 
is a small leafless shoot, like a root, to which the 
fruit is attached. The stem is large and like the 


scraping was the prophet Amos’ occupation: ef. Amos 7. 14. 
comm. 

3 ἐμβύθιον conj. W.; eis βύθον UMVPAId. ? ἐν Bude ὃν. 

4 See Index. ef. Athen. 3. 11; Plin. 13. 58; Diose. 1. 127. 3. 


293 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Kal παρύμοιον τῇ λεύκῃ, φύλλον δὲ τῇ π᾿ "ελέᾳ. 
πεπαίνει δὲ τέτταρας καρπούς, ὅσαιπερ αὐτοῦ καὶ 
αἱ βλαστήσεις" οὐδένα δὲ πεπαίνει μὴ ἐπιτμη- 
θέντος τοῦ ἐρινοῦ καὶ ἐκρυεντος τοῦ ὁποῦ. ἡ δὲ 
γλυκύτης προσεμφερὴς τῷ σύκῳ καὶ τὰ ἔσωθεν 
τοῖς ἐρινοῖς-" μέγεθος ἡλίκον κοκκύμηλον. 

(Ταύτῃ δὲ παραπλησία καὶ ἣν οἱ Ἴωνες κερω- 
νίαν καλοῦσιν' ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους γὰρ καὶ αὕτη 
φέρει τὸν πλεῖστον καρπόν, ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἀκρεμόνων, 
ὥσπερ εἴπομεν, ὀλίγον. ὁ δὲ καρπὸς ἔλλοβος, ὃν 
καλοῦσί τινες Αἰγύπτιον σῦκον διημαρτηκότες" 
οὐ γίνεται γὰρ ὅλως περὶ Αἴγυπτον ἀλλ᾽ ἐν Συρίᾳ 
καὶ ἐν ᾿Ιωνίᾳ δὲ καὶ περὶ Κνίδον καὶ “Ῥόδον. 
ἀείφυλλον δὲ καὶ ἄνθος ἔκλευκον ἔχον καί TL 
βαρύτητος, μὴ μετεωρίζον δὲ σφόδρα καὶ ὅλως 
ἐκ τῶν κάτω παραβλαστητικὸν ἄνωθεν δὲ 
ὑποξηραινόμενον. ἔχει δὲ ἅμα καὶ τὸν ἔνον καὶ 
τὸν νέον καρπόν' ἀφαιρουμένου γὰρ θατέρου μετὰ 
Κύνα καὶ ὁ ἕτερος εὐθὺς φανερὸς κυούμενος" 
κύεται γὰρ ὥσπερ βότρυς ὁμοσχήμων' εἶτ᾽ αὐξη- 
θεὶς ἀνθεῖ περὶ ᾿Αρκτοῦρον͵ καὶ ἰσημερίαν" ἀπὸ 
τούτου δὴ διαμένει, τὸν χειμῶνα μέχρι Κυνός. ἡ 
μὲν οὖν ὁμοιότης ὅτι στελεχόκαρπα καὶ ταῦτα" 
διαφοραὶ δὲ αἱ εἰρημέναι πρὸς τὴν συκάμινον. ) 

Ἂν Αὐγύπτῳ δ᾽ ἐστὶν ἕτερον ἡ περσέα καλού- 
μενον, τῇ μὲν προσόψει μέγα καὶ καλόν, παρα- 
πλήσιον δὲ μάλιστα τῇ ἀπίῳ καὶ φύλλοις καὶ 
ἄνθεσι καὶ ἀκρεμόσι καὶ τῷ ὅλῳ σχήματι" πλὴν 





1 ὕσαιπερ conj. R. Const., etc., ef. Athen. 1.6.; ὅσα ὑπὲρ 
αὐτοῦ U (corrected); ὅσα ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν M3 boa ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ Ald. 


2 Plin. 13. 59. ἢ Ὁ ee 
204 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. 1. 3-5 


abele, but the leaf is like that of the elm. [Ὁ ripens 
its fruit four times a year, having also! four periods 
of growth ; but it ripens no fruit unless the ‘fig’ is 
split and the juice let out. ‘The sweet taste resembles 
that of the fig, and the inside of the fruit is like 
that of wild figs: it is as large as a plum. 

2 (Like this too is the tree which the [onians call 
carob; for this too bears most of its fruit on the 
stem, though it bears a little also on the branches, as 
we said.* The fruit is in a pod; some call it the 
‘Egyptian fig ’—erroneously ; for it does not occur at 
all in Egypt, but in Syria and Ionia and also in 
Cnidos and Rhodes. It is evergreen and has a 
whitish flower and is somewhat acrid; it does not 
attain to a great height, and it sends out side-shoots 
entirely from its lower parts, while it withers above. 
It has on it at the same time both last year’s fruit 
and the new fruit ; for if the one is removed after the 
rising of the dog-star, immediately the other is seen 
swelling up; for there swells * up as it were another 
similar cluster. This then increases and flowers 
about the rising of Arcturus and the equinox; and 
thenceforward it ° persists through the winter to the 
rising of the dog-star. The likeness then consists in 
the fact that these trees too bear fruit on their stems, 
and the differences between them and the sycamore 
are as has been said.) 

6 In Egypt there is another tree called the persea, 
which in appearance is large and fair, and it most 
resembles the pear in leaves flowers branches and 
general form, but it is evergreen, while the other is 


4 «vera: conj. W. from G; κύει MSS. 
5 7.e. the cluster, now in the fruit stage. 
© Plin. 13. 60 and 61. 


295 


THEOPHRASTUS 


TO μὲν ἀείφυλλον τὸ δὲ φυλλοβόλον. καρπον δὲ 
φέρει πολὺν καὶ πᾶσαν ὥραν" “περικαταλαμβάνει 
γὰρ ὁ νέος, ἀεὶ τὸν ἔνον" πέττει δὲ ὑπὸ τοὺς 
ἐτησίας: τὸν δ᾽ ἄλλον ὠμότερον ἀφαιροῦσι καὶ 
ἀποτιθέασιν. ἔστι δὲ τὸ μέγεθος ἡλίκον ἄπιος, 
τῷ σχήματι δὲ πρόμακρος ἀμυγδαλώδης, χρῶμα 
δὲ αὐτοῦ ποιῶδες. ἔχει δὲ ἐντὸς κάρυον, ὥσπερ 
τὸ κοκκύμηλον, πλὴν ἔλαττον πολὺ καὶ μαλακώ- 
τερον; τὴν δὲ σάρκα γλυκεῖαν σφόδρα καὶ ἡδεῖαν 
καὶ εὔπεπτον' οὐδὲν γὰρ ἐνοχλεῖ πολὺ προσ- 
ενεγκαμένων. εὔριξον δὲ τὸ δένδρον καὶ μήκει 
καὶ πάχει καὶ πλήθει πολύ' ἔχει δὲ καὶ ξύλον 
ἰσχυρὸν καὶ καλὸν τῇ ὄψει μέλαν, ὥσπερ ὁ λωτός, 
ἐξ» ov xal τὰ ἀγάλματα καὶ τὰ κλινία καὶ 
τραπέξια καὶ τἄλλα τὰ τοιαῦτα ποιοῦσιν. 

Ἡ δὲ βάλανος ἔχει μὲν τὴν προσηγορίαν ἀπὸ 
τοῦ καρποῦ" φύλλον δ᾽ αὐτῇ παραπλήσιον τῷ 
τῆς μυρρίνης πλὴν προμηκέστερον. ἔστι δὲ τὸ 
δένδρον εὐπαχὲς μὲν καὶ εὐμέγεθες, οὐκ εὐφυὲς 
δὲ ἀλλὰ παρεστραμμένον. τοῦ “καρποῦ δὲ τοῖς 
κελύφεσι χρῶνται οἱ μυρεψοὶ κόπτοντες" εὐῶδες 
γὰρ ἔχει τὸν δὲ καρπὸν αὐτὸν ἀχρεῖον. ἔστι δὲ 
καὶ τῷ μεγέθει καὶ τῇ ὄψει παραπλήσιος τῷ τῆς 
καππάριος" ξύλον δὲ ὦ ἰσχυρὸν καὶ εἰς ἄλλα τε 
χρήσιμον καὶ εἰς τὰς ναυπηγίας. 

Τὸ δὲ καλούμενον κουκιόφορόν ἐστιν ὅμοιον τῷ 
φοίνικι" τὴν δὲ ὁμοιότητα κατὰ τὸ στέλεχος 
ἔχει καὶ τὰ φύλλα: διαφέρει. δὲ ὅτε ὁ μὲν φοῖνιξ 
μονοφυὲς καὶ ἁπλοῦν ἐστι, τοῦτο δὲ προσαυξηθὲν 
σχίζεται καὶ γίνεται δίκρουν, εἶτα πάλιν ἑκάτερον 








1 ἀποτιθέασιν conj. R. Const. from G (recondunt) ; τιθέασι 
UMVAIld. 


2906 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. u. 5-7 


deciduous. It bears abundant fruit and at every 
season, for the new fruit always overtakes that of 
last year. It ripens its fruit at the season of the 
etesian winds: the other fruit they gather somewhat 
unripe and store! it. In size it is as large as a pear, 
but in shape it is oblong, almond-shaped, and _ its 
colour is grass-green. It has inside a stone like the 
plum, but much smaller and softer; the flesh is 
sweet and luscious and easily digested; for it does 
no hurt if one eats it in quantity. The tree has good 
roots as to length thickness and number. Moreover 
its wood is strong and fair in appearance, black like 
the nettle-tree: out of it men make their images 
beds tables and other such things. 

2 The balanos gets its name from its fruit’; its leaf 
is like that of the myrtle* but it is longer. The 
tree is of a good stoutness°® and stature, but not of a 
good shape, being crooked. The perfumers use the 
husks of the fruit, which they bruise; for this is 
fragrant, though the fruit itself is useless. In size 
and appearance it is like the fruit of the caper; the 
wood is strong and useful for shipbuilding and other 
purposes. 

6 The tree called the doum-palm is like the date- 
palm ; the resemblance is in the stem and the leaves, 
but it differs in that the date-palm is a tree with a 
single undivided stem, while the other, as it increases, 
splits and becomes forked,’ and then each of the two 


2 Plin. 13. 61. 

8 s.e. it is like an acorn (SaAavos). 

4 μυρρίνης MVPAId.; puplens U. 

> εὐπαχὲς conj. Sch.; εὐπαθὲς U; ἀπαθὲς Ald. H. 

© Piin..13;62. 

7 cf. 2.6.9, where the same tree is evidently indicated. 
δίκρουν conj. Salm., Scal., etc.; ἄκρον UAld. H. 


207 


THEOPHRASTUS 


TOUTWY ὁμοιως" ἔτι δὲ τὰς ῥάβδους βραχείας ἔ ἔχει 
σφόδρα καὶ οὐ πολλας. χρῶνται δὲ τῷ φύλλῳ, 
καθάπερ τῷ φοίνικι, πρὸς τὰ πλέγματα. καρπὸν 
δὲ ἰδιον ἔχει πολὺ διαφέροντα καὶ μεγέθει καὶ 
σχήματι καὶ χυλῷ: μέγεθος μὲν γὰρ ἔχει σχεδὸν 
χειροπληθές" στρογγύλον δὲ καὶ οὐ προμήκη" 
χρῶμα ἐπίξανθον' χυλὸν δὲ γλυκὺν καὶ εὔστομον' 
οὐκ ἀθρόον δέ, ὥ ὥσπερ ὁ φοῖνιξ, ἀλλὰ κεχωρισμένον 
καθ᾽ ἕνα" πυρῆνα δὲ μέγαν καὶ σφόδρα σκληρόν, 
ἐξ οὗ τοὺς κρίκους τορνεύουσι τοὺς εἰς τοὺς 
στρωματεῖς τοὺς διαποικίλους" διαφέρει δὲ πολὺ 
τὸ ξύλον τοῦ φοίνικος: τὸ μὲν γὰρ μανὸν καὶ 
ἰνῶδες καὶ χαῦνον, τὸ δὲ πυκνὸν καὶ βαρὺ καὶ 
σαρκῶδες καὶ διατμηθὲν οὗλον σφόδρα καὶ 
σκληρόν ἐστιν. καὶ οἵ γε δὴ Πέρσαι πάνυ 
ἐτίμων αὐτὸ καὶ ἐκ τούτου τῶν κλινῶν ἐποιοῦντο 
τοὺς πόδας. 

el δὲ ἄκανθα καλεῖται μὲν διὰ τὸ ἀκανθῶδες 
ὅλον τὸ δένδρον εἶναι πλὴν τοῦ στελέχους" καὶ 
γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀκρεμόνων καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν βλαστῶν 
καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν φύλλων ἔχει. μεγέθει δὲ μέγα, καὶ 
γὰρ δωδεκάπηχυς ἐξ αὐτῆς ἐρέψιμος ὕλη τέμνεται. 
διττὸν δὲ τὸ γένος, αὐτῆς, ἡ μὲν yap ἐστι λευκὴ 
ἡ δὲ μέλαινα" καὶ ἡ μὲν λευκὴ ἀσθενής τε καὶ 
εὔσηπτος: ἡ δὲ μέλαινα ἰσχυροτέρα τε καὶ 
ἄσηπτος, δι’ ὃ καὶ ἐν ταῖς ναυπηγίαις χρῶνται 
πρὸς τὰ ἐγκοίλια αὐτῇ. τὸ δένδρον δὲ οὐκ ἄγαν 
ὀρθοφυές. ὁ δὲ καρπὸς ἔλλοβος, καθάπερ τῶν 
χεδροπῶν, ¢ ὦ χρῶνται οἱ ἐγχώριοι πρὸς τὰ δέρματα 
ἀντὶ κηκίδος. τὸ δ᾽ ἄνθος καὶ τῇ ὄψει καλόν, 
ὥστε καὶ στεφάνους ποιεῖν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, καὶ φαρμα- 


298 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. πὶ 7-8 


branches forks again: moreover the twigs are very 
short and not numerous. ‘They use the leaf, like the 
palm-leaf, for plaiting. It has a peculiar fruit, very 
different from that of the date-palm in size form and 
taste; for in size it is nearly big enough to fill the 
hand, but it is round rather than long ; the colour is 
yellowish, the flavour sweet and palatable. It does 
not grow bunched together, like the fruit of the date- 
palm, but each fruit grows separately ; it has a large 
and very hard stone, out of which they turn the 
rings for embroidered bed-hangings.1_ The wood is 
very different to that of the date-palm; whereas the 
latter is of loose texture fibrous and porous,” that of 
the doum-palm is close heavy and fleshy, and when 
split is exceedingly compact and hard. The Persians * 
used to esteem it highly and made the feet of their 
couches out of it. 

4The akantha (acacia) is so called because the 
whole tree is spinous (akanthodes) except the stem; 
for it has spines on the branches shoots and leaves. 
It is of large stature, since lengths of timber for 
roofing of twelve cubits are cut from it. There are 
two kinds, the white and the black ; the white is weak 
and easily decays, the black is stronger and _ less 
liable to decay ; wherefore they use it in shipbuilding 
for the ribs.6 The tree is not very erect in growth. 
The fruit is in a pod, like that of leguminous plants, 
and the natives use it for tanning hides instead of 
gall. 6 The flower is very beautiful in appearance, so 
that they make garlands of it, and it has medicinal 
Plin. l.c., velares annulos ; ef. Athen. 12. 71, ad jin. 
χαῦνον conj. Sch.; χλωρὸν Ald. 
i.e. during their occupation of Egypt. 


Plin. 13. 63; Athen. 15. 25. 
cf. Hdt. 2. 96. 6 ef. Athen. l.c. 


ee & NF 


299 


10 


11 


THEOPHRASTUS 


κῶδες, δι’ ὃ Kal συλλέγουσιν οἱ ἰατροί. γίνεται 
δὲ ἐκ ταύτης καὶ τὸ κόμμι" καὶ ῥέει καὶ πλη- 
γείσης καὶ αὐτόματον ἄνευ σχάσεως. ὅταν δὲ 
κοπῇ, μετὰ τρίτον ἔτος εὐθὺς ἀναβεβλάστηκε' 
πολὺ δὲ τὸ δένδρον ἐστί, καὶ δρυμὸς μέγας περὶ 
τὸν Θηβαϊκὸν νόμον, οὗπερ καὶ ἡ δρῦς καὶ ἡ 
περσέα πλείστη καὶ ἡ ἐλάα. 

Καὶ γὰρ ἡ ἐλάα περὶ τοῦτον τὸν τόπον ἐστί, 
τῷ ποταμῷ μὲν οὐκ ,ἀρδευομένη, πλείω γὰρ ἢ 
τριακόσια στάδια ἀπέχει, ναματιαίοις δ᾽ ὕδασιν" 
εἰσὶ γὰρ κρῆναι πολλαί. τὸ δ᾽ ἔλαιον οὐδὲν 
χεῖρον τοῦ ἐνθάδε, πλὴν κακωδέστερον διὰ τὸ 
σπανίοις τοῖς ἁλσὶ χρῆσθαι" φύσει δὲ τὸ ξύλον 
τοῦ δένδρου. καὶ σκληρὸν καὶ παραπλήσιον 
τεμνόμενον τὴν χρόαν τῷ λωτίνῳ. 

"AdXo δέ τι δένδρον ἡ κοκκυμηλέα, μέγα μὲν 
τῷ μεγέθει καὶ τὴν φύσιν τοῦ καρποῦ ὅμοιον τοῖς 
μεσπίλοις, καὶ τὸ μέγεθος παραπλήσιον πλὴν 
ἔχοντα πυρῆνα στρογγύλον᾽ ἄρχεται δὲ ἀνθεῖν 
μηνὸς Πυανεψιῶνος, τὸν δὲ καρπὸν πεπαίνει περὶ 
ἡλίου τροπὰς em aed ἀείφυλλον δ᾽ ἐστίν. 
οἱ δὲ περὶ τὴν Θηβαΐδα κατοικοῦντες διὰ τὴν 
ἀφθονίαν. τοῦ δένδρου ξηραίνουσι τὸν καρπὸν καὶ 
τὸν πυρῆνα ἐξαιροῦντες κόπτουσι καὶ ποιοῦσι 
παλάθας. 

ὕλημα δὲ ἴδιόν te φύεται περὶ Μέμφιν, οὐ 
κατὰ φύλλα καὶ βλαστοὺς καὶ τὴν ὅλην μορφὴν 





cf. Hdt. le. 

σχάσεως conj. R. Const. ; σχίσεω- Ald. 

πλείστη conj. R. Const.; πλεκτὴ UMVAId. 

cf. C.P. 6. 8. 7, where this olive is said to produce no oil. 
cf. Strabo, 17. 1. 35. 


300 


σ δ OND 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. u. 8-11 


properties, wherefore physicians gather it. 1Gum 
is also produced from it, which flows both when the 
tree is wounded and also of its own accord without 
any incision? being made. When the tree is cut 
down, after the third year it immediately shoots up 
again ; it is a common tree, and there is a great wood 
of it in the Thebaid, where grow the oak, the persea 
in great abundance,’ and the olive. 

*For the olive also grows in that district, though 
it is not watered by the river, being more than 300 
furlongs distant from it, but by brooks; for there 
are many springs. The oil produced is not inferior 
to that of our country, except that it has a less 
pleasing smell,°> because it has not a sufficient 
natural supply of salt.6 The wood of the tree is hard 
in character, and, when split, is like in colour’ to 
that of the nettle-tree. 

8There is another tree, the (Egyptian) plum 
(sebesten), which is of great stature, and the 
character of its fruit® is like the medlar (which it 
resembles in size), except that it has a round stone. 
It begins to flower in the month Pyanepsion,!° and 
ripens its fruit about the winter solstice, and it is 
evergreen.!! The inhabitants of the Thebaid, because 
of the abundance of the tree, dry the fruit; they 
take out the stones, bruise it, and make cakes of it. 

There is a peculiar bush 12. which grows about 
Memphis, whose peculiarity does not lie in its leaves 


8 σπανίοις. .. φύσει conj. W.; σπανίως τοῖς ἁλσὶ xp. τῇ 
φύσει Ald.; so U, but omitting τῇ. 

11,6. places ςἵ. 4. 8.1. § Plin. 13. 64 and 65. 

9 τοῦ καρποῦ add. Scal. from G and Plin. U.c. 10 October. 

11 ἀείφυλλον conj. Scal. from Gand Plin./.c.; φύλλον UM V Ald. 

12 Mimosa asperata ; see Index, App. (2). ὕλημα conj. Scal. 
from G (materia); οἴδημα MAId.U (corrected). 


301 


12 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἔχον τὸ ἴδιον ἀλλ᾽ εἰς τὸ συμβαῖνον περὶ αὐτὸ 
πάθος: ἡ μὲν γὰρ πρόσοψις ἀκανθώδης ἐστὶν 
αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ φύλλον παρόμοιον ταῖς πτερ- 
iow? ὅταν δέ τις ἅψηται τῶν κλωνίων, ὥσπερ 
ἀφαναινόμενα τὰ φύλλα συμπίπτειν φασὶν εἶτα 
μετά τινα χρόνον ἀναβιώσκεσθαι πάλιν καὶ 
θάλλειν. καὶ τὰ μὲν ἴδια τῆς χώρας. ὅσα γ᾽ 
ἂν δένδρα τις ἢ θάμνους εἴποι, τά γ᾽ ἐπιφανέ- 
στατα ταῦτ᾽ ἐστί. περὶ γὰρ τῶν ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ 
καὶ τοῖς ἕλεσιν ὕστερον ἐροῦμεν, ὅταν καὶ περὶ 
τῶν ἄλλων ἐνύδρων. 

[Ἅπαντα δὲ ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τὰ δένδρα τὰ τοιαῦτα 
μεγάλα καὶ τοῖς μήκεσι καὶ τοῖς πάχεσιν' ἐν 
γοῦν “Μέμφιδι τηλικοῦτο δένδρον εἶναι λέγεται 
τὸ πάχος, ὃ τρεῖς ἄνδρες οὐ δύνανται περιλαμβά- 
νειν. ἔστι δὲ καὶ τμηθὲν τὸ ξύλον καλόν: πυκνόν 
τε γὰρ σφόδρα καὶ τῷ ᾿ χρώματι λωτοειδές. 

III. Ἔν Λιβύῃ δὲ ὁ λωτὸς πλεῖστος καὶ κάλ- 
λιστος καὶ ὁ παλίουρος καὶ ἔν τισι μέρεσι τῇ τε 
Νασαμωνικῇ καὶ παρ᾽ Ἄμμωνι καὶ ἄλλοις ὁ 
φοῖνιξ' ἐν δὲ τῇ Κυρηναίᾳ κυπάρισσος καὶ ἐλάαι 
τε κάλλισται καὶ ἔλαιον πλεῖστον. ἰδιώτατον 
δὲ πάντων τὸ σίλφιον" ἔτι κρόκον πολὺν ἡ χώρα 
φέρ εἰ καὶ εὔοσμον. ἔστι δὲ τοῦ λωτοῦ τὸ μὲν 
ὅλον δένδρον ἴδιον εὐμέγεθες ἡλίκον ἄπιος ἢ 
μικρὸν ἔλαττον" φύλλον δὲ ἐντομὰς ἔχον καὶ 
πρινῶδες" τὸ μὲν ξύλον μέλαν' γένη δὲ αὐτοῦ 
πλείω διαφορὰς ἔχοντα τοῖς καρποῖς" ὁ δὲ καρπὸς 





1 πάθος: ς[. 1. 1. 1 n. 
* of. Schol. ad Nic. Ther. 683 of a sensitive plant called 
σκορπίουρος or ἰσχύουσα. ἀφαναινόμενα conj. Scal.; ἀφαυλινό- 


μενα UMVP,Ald. 
302 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. τ 11-1. 1 


shoots and general form, but in the strange property ! 
which belongs to it. Its appearance is spinous and 
the leaf is like ferns, but, when one touches the twigs, 
they say that the leaves as it were wither up? and 
collapse and then after a time come to life again and 
flourish. Such are the most conspicuous things 
peculiar to the country, to speak only of trees or 
shrubs. For we will speak later of the things which 
grow in the river and the marshes, when we come to 
speak of the other water plants. 

3 All the trees of this kind in that country are 
large, both in height and stoutness ; thus at Memphis 
there is said to be a tree of such girth that three 
men cannot embrace it. ‘The wood too, when split, 
is good, being of extremely close grain and in colour 
like the nettle-tree. 


Of the trees and shrubs special to Libya. 


111. 4In Libya the Jotos is most abundant and 
fairest; so also is the Christ’s thorn, and in some 
parts, such as the Nasamonian district and near the 
temple of Zeus Ammon, the date-palm. In the 
Cyrenaica the cypress grows and the olives are fairest 
and the oil most abundant. Most special of all to 
this district is the silphium, and the land also bears 
abundant fragrant saffron-crocus. As to the lotos— 
the whole tree is peculiar, of good stature, as tall as 
a pear-tree, or nearly so; the leaf is divided and like 
that of the kermes-oak, and the wood is black. There 
are several sorts, which differ in their fruits ; the fruit 


3 This section is evidently out of place ; its probable place 
is at the end of §10, so that the description will belong to 
the ‘ Egyptian plum.’ 

* See Index, Plin. 13. 104-106, 


3095 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἡλίκος κύαμος, πεπαινεται δέ, ὥσπερ οἱ βότρυες, 
μεταβάλλων τὰς χροιάς" φύεται. δέ, καθάπερ τὰ 
μύρτα, παρ᾽ ἄλληλα πυκνὸς ἐπὶ τῶν βλαστῶν" 
ἐσθιόμενος. δ᾽ ὁ ἐν τοῖς “Λωτοφάγοις καλουμένοις 
γλυκὺς καὶ ἡδὺς καὶ ἀσινὴς καὶ ἔτι πρὸς τὴν 
κοιλίαν ἀγαθός" ἡδίων δ᾽ ὁ ἀπύρηνος, ἔστι γὰρ 
καὶ τοιοῦτόν τι γένος" ποιοῦσι δὲ καὶ οἶνον ἐξ 
αὐτοῦ. 

Πολὺ δὲ τὸ δένδρον καὶ πολύκαρπον: τό γ᾽ 
οὖν ᾿Οφέλλου στρατόπεδον, ἡνίκα ἐβάδιζεν εἰς 
Καρχηδόνα, καὶ τούτῳ φασὶ τραφῆναι πλείους 
ἡμέρας ἐπιλιπόντων τῶν ἐπιτηδείων. ἔστι μὲν 
οὖν καὶ ἐν τῇ νήσῳ τῇ Λωτοφαγιτίδι καλουμένῃ 
πολύς: αὕτη δ᾽ ἐπίκειται καὶ ἀπέχει μικρόν' οὐ 
μὴν οὐθέν γε μέρος ἀλλὰ πολλῷ πλεῖον ἐν τῇ 
ἠπείρῳ' πλεῖστον γὰρ ὅλως ἐν τῇ Διβύῃ, καθάπερ 
εἴρηται, τοῦτο καὶ ὁ παλίουρός ἐστιν: ἐν yap 
Εὐεσπερίσι τούτοις καυσίμοις χρῶνται. διαφέρει 
δὲ οὗτος ὁ λωτὸς τοῦ παρὰ τοῖς Λωτοφάγοις. 

ὋὉ δὲ παλίουρος θαμνωδέστερος τοῦ λωτοῦ: 
φύλλον δὲ παρόμοιον ἔχει τῷ ἐνταῦθα, τὸν δὲ 
καρπὸν διάφορον' οὐ γὰρ πλατὺν ἀλλὰ στρογγύ- 
λον καὶ ἐρυθρόν, μέγεθος δὲ ἡλίκον τῆς κέδρου ἢ 
μικρῷ μεῖξον' πυρῆνα δὲ ἔχει οὐ συνεσθιόμενον 
καθάπερ ταῖς ῥοαῖς" ἡδὺν δὲ τὸν καρπόν: καὶ ἐάν 
τις οἶνον ἐπιχέη καὶ αὐτὸν ἡδίω γίνεσθαί φασι 
καὶ τὸν οἶνον ἡδίω ποιεῖν. 


1 of. Hdt. 4.177; Athen. 14. 651; Scyl. Peripl. Lotophagi. 

2 A ruler of Cyrene, who invaded Carthaginian territory in 
conjunction with Agathocles, B.c. 308. 

3 τῇ λωτοφαγιτίδι conj. W.; τῇ Λωτοφαγίᾳ Φάριδι UMAId. 

4 μέρος : μείων conj. Sch. (non minor G). 


304 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. i. 1-3 


is as large as a bean, and in ripening like grapes it 
changes its colour: it grows, like myrtle-berries, 
close together on the shoots ; to eat, that which grows 
among the people called the Lotus-eaters! is sweet 
pleasant and harmless, and even good for the stomach ; 
but that which has no stone is pleasanter (for 
there is also such a sort), and they also make wine 
from it. 

The tree is abundant and produces much fruit ; 
thus the army of Ophellas,? when it was marching 
on Carthage, was fed, they say, on this alone for 
several days, when the provisions ran short. It is 
abundant also in the island called the island of 
the Lotus-eaters ;2 this lies off the mainland at 
no great distance: it grows however in no less 
quantity, but even more abundantly ° on the main- 
land; for, as has been said,® this tree is common in 
Libya generally as well as the Christ’s thorn; for in 
the islands called Euesperides’ they use these trees 
as fuel. However this /otos® differs from that found 
in the land of the Lotus-eaters. 

® The (Egyptian) ‘ Christ’s thorn’ is more shrubby 
than the lotos; it has a leaf like the tree of the same 
name of our country, but the fruit is different ; for 
it is not flat, but round and red, and in size as large 
as the fruit of the prickly cedar or a little larger; 
it has a stone which is not eaten with the fruit, as in 
the case of the pomegranate, but the fruit is sweet, 
and, if one pours wine over it, they say that it 
becomes sweeter and that it makes the wine sweeter. 


5 πλεῖον U3 ? πλείων with MV. 
67 i ea ef) ΕΓ στα: 191, 
& of. Hdt. 2. 96. 

¥ See Index. Plin. 13. 111. 


399 


4 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Ἔνιοι δὲ τὸ TOD λωτοῦ δένδρον θαμνῶδες εἶναι 
\ / “ / \ > / \ \ 
Kal πολύκλαδον, TO στελέχει δὲ pe τὸν δὲ 
καρπὸν μέγα τὸ κάρυον ἔχειν: τὸ δ᾽ ἐκτὸς οὐ 
an bd \ / > / \ 
σαρκῶδες ἀλλὰ δερματωδέστερον' ἐσθιόμενον δὲ 
οὐχ οὕτω γλυκὺν ὡς εὔστομον' καὶ τὸν οἶνον ὃν 
Ε > a an > / b] > Ἃ Υ Aa 
ἐξ αὐτοῦ ποιοῦσιν οὐ διαμένειν ἀλλ᾽ ἢ δύο ἢ 
/ 
τρεῖς ἡμέρας εἶτ᾽ ὀξύνειν. ἡδίω μὲν οὖν τὸν 
καρπὸν τὸν ἐν τοῖς Λωτοφάγοις, ξύλον δὲ 
κάλλιον τὸ ἐν Κυρηναίᾳ: θερμοτέραν δὲ εἶναι 
\ / \ Qn / lal 4 \ 
τὴν χώραν τὴν τῶν Λωτοφάγων: τοῦ ξύλου δὲ 
τὴν ῥίζαν εἶναι μελαντέραν μὲν πολὺ πυκνὴν δὲ 
ἧττον καὶ εἰς ἐλάττω χρησίμην: εἰς γὰρ τὰ 
ἐγχειρίδια καὶ τὰ ἐπικολλήματα χρῆσθαι, τῷ 
/ \ v \ 2 \ \ > yy / 
ξύλῳ δὲ εἴς TE TOUS αὐλοὺς καὶ εἰς ἄλλα πλείω. 
Ἔν δὲ τῇ μὴ ὑομένῃ τῆς Λιβύης ἄλλα τε πλείω 
φύεσθαι καὶ φοίνικας μεγάλους καὶ καλούς: οὐ 
μὴν ἀλλ᾽ ὅπου μὲν φοῖνιξ ἁλμυρίδα τε εἶναι καὶ 
ἔφυδρον τὸν τόπον, οὐκ ἐν πολλῷ δὲ βάθει ἀλλὰ 
μάλιστα ἐπ᾽ ὀργυίαις τρισίν. τὸ δ᾽ ὕδωρ ἔνθα 
\ \ / ” Ν [ Ν ,. " 
μὲν γλυκὺ σφόδρα ἔνθα δὲ ἁλυκὸν πλησίον ὄντων 
ἀλλήλοις" ὅπου δὲ τὰ ἄλλα φύεται. ξηρὸν καὶ 
ἄνυδρον' ἐνιαχοῦ δὲ καὶ τὰ φρέατα εἶναι ἑκατὸν 
ὀργυιῶν, ὥστε ὑποζυγίοις a ἀπὸ τροχηλιᾶς ἀνιμᾷν' 
δι’ ὃ καὶ θαυμαστὸν πῶς ποτε ὠρύχθη τηλικαῦτα 
\ 
βάθη: τὸ δ᾽ οὗν τῶν ὑδάτων τῶν ὑπὸ τοὺς 
/ \ 3 Μ 3 \ Μ 
φοίνικας καὶ ἐν "Αμμωνος εἶναι διαφορὰν ἔχον 
τὴν εἰρημένην. φύεσθαι δὲ ἐν τῇ μὴ ὑομένῃ τὸ 
΄ \ b eee » ΄ \ / / 
θύμον πολὺ καὶ ἄλλα ἴδιά Te καὶ πλείω γίνεσθαι 


1 Sch. after Scal. places this section before ὃ 3, making the 

account of this tree consecutive. 2 Plin. 13. 17. 104-106. 
3 εὔπαχες Cun}. Re Const.; εὐσταχές U; εὔσταχες MP,Ald. 
‘ cf. Hdt. 2. 96. 


306 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. πὶ. 4-5 


1Some say that the lotos? is shrubby and much 
branched, though it has a stout? stem; and that the 
stone in the fruit is large, while the outside is not 
fleshy but somewhat leathery ; and that to eat it is not 
so much sweet as palatable; and that the wine which 
they make out of it does not keep more than two 
or three days, after which it gets sour; and so that 
the fruit* found in the Lotus-eaters’ country is 
sweeter, while the wood in the Cyrenaica is better ; 
and that the country of the Lotus-eaters is hotter ; 
and that the root is much blacker than the wood, 
but of less close grain, and of use for fewer purposes ; 
for they use it only for dagger-handles and tessellated 
work,> while the wood is used for pipes and many 
other things. 

In the part of Libya where no rain falls they say 
that, besides many other trees, there grow tall and 
fine date-palms; however they add that, where the 
date-palm is found, the soil® is salt and contains 
water, and that at no great depth, not more than 
three fathoms. They say also that the water is in 
some places quite sweet, but in others quite close 
by it is brackish ; that where however other things 
grow, the soil is dry and waterless; and that in 
places even the wells are a hundred fathoms deep, 
so that they draw water by means of a windlass 
worked by beasts. Wherefore it is wonderful how 
at any time digging to such depths was carried out. 
Such, they say, is the special character of the water 
supply which feeds the date-palms in the district 
also of the temple of Zeus Ammon. Further it is 
said that in the land where no rain falls thyme? is 

5 ἐπικολλήματα : lit. ‘pieces glued on’; ef. Plin. J.c. 


6 cf. Hdt. 3. 183. 
7 θύμον mBas.H.; θάμνον UMVAId. ef. 6. 2. 3. 


THEOPHRASTUS 


> fal \ -“ \ / \ \ 
ἐνταῦθα, καὶ πτῶκα Kal δορκάδα καὶ στρουθὸν 
n ’ὔ Ν, an 

καὶ ἕτερα τῶν θηρίων. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἄδηλον 
> 2 / / \ \ \ ’ 

εἰ ἐκτοπίζει που πιόμενα: (διὰ γὰρ τὸ τάχος 
/ / 

δύναται μακράν te καὶ ταχὺ παραγενέσθαι), 
» > > ς fa , / 

ἄλλως Te Kel δι’ ἡμερῶν τινων πίνουσι, καθάπερ 

Ad / 

Kal τὰ ἥμερα Tapa τρίτην ἢ τετάρτην ποτίζεται 
ταῦτα: τὸ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ζώων, οἷον ὄφεων 
a n , Ν “ , 
σαυρῶν καὶ τῶν τοιούτων, φανερὸν ὅτι ἄποτα. 
\ ’ / ¢ Ν ’ > / a 
tous δὲ Λίβυας λέγειν ὅτι τὸν ὄνον ἐσθίει ταῦτα 

a Ν 3.» OB Τῷ » / \ / 
ὃς καὶ παρ ἡμῖν γίνεται, πολύπουν TE καὶ μέλαν 
/ lal 
συσπειρώμενον εἰς ἑαυτό; τοῦτον δὲ πολύν τε 
/ \ Φ 
γίνεσθαι σφόδρα καὶ ὑγρὸν τὴν φύσιν εἶναι. 
, \ ᾽ὔ a 
Δρόσον δὲ ἀεὶ πίπτειν ἐν TH μὴ ὑομένῃ πολλήν, 
a Ὁ \ \ / 
ὥστε δῆλον OTL τὸν μὲν φοίνικα Kal εἴ TL ἄλλο 
/ > ᾽ / , > na an > Ἁ > / 
φύεται ἐν ἀνύδροις TO TE ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἀνιὸν ἐκτρέφει 
Ἂν, , Ἂν ΄ 
καὶ πρὸς τούτῳ ἡ δρόσος. ἱκανὴ γὰρ ὡς κατὰ 
/ \ \ ye > a \ = 3 
μεγέθη καὶ τὴν φύσιν αὐτῶν ξηρὰν οὖσαν καὶ ἐκ 
“ \ / \ lal 
τοιούτων συνεστηκυῖαν. Kal δένδρα μὲν ταῦτα 
a 2 , \ \ a , 
πλεῖστα Kal ἰδιώτατα. περὶ δὲ τοῦ σιλφίου 
, δ al \ / 
λεκτέον ὕστερον ποῖόν TL τὴν φύσιν. 
Δ / ᾽ A 
IV. Ἂν δὲ τῇ ᾿Ασίᾳ παρ᾽ ἑκάστοις ide’ ἄττα 


Ν \ 


τυγχάνει; τὰ μὲν yap φέρουσιν αἱ χῶραι τὰ δ᾽ 





1 Lepus Aegyptiacus. cf. Arist. H.A. 8. 28. 
2 ὡς κατὰ conj. Seal. from G@; ὥστε τὰ Ald. H. 


308 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. ir. στιν. 1 


abundant, and that there are various other peculiar 
plants there, and that there are found the hare! 
gazelle ostrich and other animals. However it is 
uncertain whether these do not migrate in order to 
find drink somewhere, (for by reason of their fleet- 
ness they are able to appear at a distant place in a 
short space of time), especially if they can go for 
several days without drinking, even as these animals, 
when domesticated, are only given drink every third 
or fourth day. While as to other animals, such as 
snakes lizards and the like, it is plain that they go 
without drink. And we are told that according to 
the Libyans, these animals eat the wood-louse, which 
is of the same kind that is found also in our 
country, being black, with many feet, and rolling 
itself into a ball ; this, they say, is extremely common 
and is juicy by nature. 

They say also that dew always falls abundantly 
in the land in which no rain falls, so that it is plain 
that the date-palin, as well as anything else which 
grows in waterless places, is kept alive by the 
moisture which rises from the ground, and also by 
the dew. For the latter is sufficient, considering? the 
size of such trees and their natural character, which 
is dry and formed of dry components. And trees of 
that character are most abundant in, and most 
specially belong to such country. The character 
of the silphium we must discuss later. 


Of the trees and herbs special to Asia. 


IV. In different parts of Asia also there are 
special trees, for the soil of the various regions 
produces some but not others. 3Thus they say that 


? Plin. 16. 144, 
399 


THEOPHRASTUS 


> ? \ A / ” “ 
οὐ φυουσιν" οἵον κιττὸν καὶ ἐλάαν ov φασιν εἰναι 
τῆς ᾿Ασίας ἐν τοῖς ἄνω τῆς Συρίας ἀπὸ θαλάττης 

, ’ ε al > 7 3 >? a a \ 
πένθ᾽ ἡμερῶν: arr ἐν ᾿ἸΙνδοῖς φανῆναι κιττὸν 
ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ Μηρῷ καλουμένῳ, ὅθεν δὴ καὶ τὸν 

lal ἃ \ 
Διόνυσον εἶναι μυθολογοῦσι. δι᾽ ὃ καὶ ᾿Αλέξαν- 
’ 
ὃρος ἀπ᾽ ἐξοδίας λέγεται ἀπιὼν ἐστεφανωμένος 
κιττῷ εἶναι καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ στρατιά: τῶν δὲ 
ἄλλων ἐν Μηδίᾳ μόνον" περικλείειν γὰρ αὕτη 
δοκεῖ καὶ συνάπτειν πως τῷ Ilovtw@. καίτοι γε 
διεφιλοτιμήθη Αρπαλος ἐν τοῖς παραδείσοις τοῖς 
περὶ Βαβυλῶνα φυτεύων πολλάκις καὶ πραγ- 
ματευόμενος, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲν ἐποίει πλέον: οὐ γὰρ 
ἐδύνατο ζῆν ὥσπερ τἄλλα τὰ ἐκ τῆς “Ελλάδος. 
τοῦτο μὲν οὖν οὐ δέχεται ἡ χώρα διὰ τὴν τοῦ 
ἀέρος κρᾶσιν: ἀναγκαίως δὲ δέχεται καὶ πύξον 
καὶ φίλυραν: καὶ γὰρ περὶ ταῦτα πονοῦσιν οἱ ἐν 
τοῖς παραδείσοις. ἕτερα δὲ ἴδια φέρει καὶ δένδρα 
καὶ ὑλήματα" καὶ ἔοικεν ὅλως 0 τόπος ὁ πρὸς 
ἀνατολὰς καὶ μεσημβρίαν ὥσπερ καὶ ζῶα καὶ 
φυτὰ φέρειν ἰδια παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους" οἷον 7 τε 
Μηδία χώρα καὶ Περσὶς ἄλλα τε ἔχει πλείω καὶ 
τὸ μῆλον τὸ Μηδικὸν ἢ τὸ Περσικὸν καλούμενον. 
» \ \ / a / \ Ὁ \ 
ἔχει δὲ τὸ δένδρον τοῦτο φύλλον μὲν ὅμοιον καὶ 
\ ” a al > / > / \ “ 

σχεδὸν ἴσον τῷ τῆς ἀνδράχλης, ἀκάνθας δὲ οἵας 
ἄπιος ἢ ὀξυάκανθος, λείας δὲ καὶ ὀξείας σφόδρα 
καὶ ἰσχυράς: τὸ δὲ μῆλον οὐκ ἐσθίεται μέν, 





1 δλάαν conj. Spr.; ἐλάτην MSS. cf. Hdt. 1. 193; Xen. 
Anab. 4. 4.13; Arr. Ind. 40. 

2 κιττὸν conj. W., ef. Arr. Anab. 5.1.63 καὶ τὴν UMV; 
καὶ τῷ Ald. H. 3 λέγεται add. W. 

1 ἐξοδίας UMVP; ᾿ἸΙνδίας W. with Ald. 

5 κιττῷ elvacconj. W.; εἶτα μεῖναι U; εἶτα μὴ εἶναι MVPAId. 


310 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. ιν. 1-2 


ivy and olive! do not grow in Asia in the parts of 
Syria which are five days’ journey from the sea; but 
that in India ivy? appears on the mountain called 
Meros, whence, according to the tale, Dionysus 
came. Wherefore it is 5814 5 that Alexander, when 
he came back from an expedition, was crowned 
with ivy,® himself and his army. But elsewhere in 
Asia it is said to grow only in Media, for that country 
seems in a way to surround and join on to the Euxine 
Sea. However,’ when Harpalus took great pains 
over and over again to plant it in the gardens of 
Babylon, and made a special point of it, he failed: 
since it could not live like the other things intro- 
duced from Hellas. The country then does not ὃ 
admit this plant on account of the climate, and it 
grudgingly admits the box and the lime; for even 
these give much trouble to those engaged in the 
gardens. It also produces some peculiar trees and 
shrubs. And in general the lands of the East and 
South appear to have peculiar plants, as they have 
peculiar animals ; for instance, Media and Persia have, 
among many others, that which is called the 
‘Median’ or ‘ Persian apple’ (citron).9 This tree 1° 
has a leaf like to and almost identical with that of 
the andrachne, but it has thorns like those of the 
pear or white-thorn, which however are smooth 
and very sharp and strong. The ‘apple’ is not 


δ 7.e. and so Greek plants may be expected to grow there. 
But the text is probably defective; cf. the citation of this 
passage, Plut. Quaest. Conv. 3. 2. 1. 

7 καίτοι ye. ‘This sentence does not connect properly with 
the preceding. 8 οὐ add. Sch. 

9 Plin. 12. 15 and 16; cited also Athen. 3. 26. 

10 ef. Verg. G. 2. 131-135. 

11 ἅπιος : ? here=axpds R. Const. cf. C.P. 1. 15. 2. 


311 


THEOPHRASTUS 


εὔοσμον δὲ πάνυ καὶ τὸ φύλλον τοῦ δένδρου" κἂν 
εἰς ἱμάτια τεθῇ τὸ μῆλον ἄκοπα διατηρεῖ. χρή- 
σιμον δ᾽ ἐπειδὰν τύχη «τις» πεπωκὼς φάρμακον 
«θανάσιμον: δοθὲν γὰρ ἐν οἴνῳ διακόπτει τὴν 
κοιλίαν καὶ ἐξάγει τὸ φάρμακον"» καὶ πρὸς στό- 
ματος εὐωδίαν" ἐὰν γάρ τις ἑψήσῃ ἐν ζωμῷ, ἢ ἐν 
ἄλλῳ τινὶ τὸ ἔσωθεν τοῦ μήλου ἐκπιέσῃ εἰς τὸ 
στόμα καὶ καταροφήσῃ, ποιεῖ τὴν ὀσμὴν ἡδεῖαν. 
σπείρεται δὲ τοῦ ἦρος εἰς πρασιὰς ἐξαιρεθὲν τὸ 
σπέρμα ,“διειργασμένας ἐπιμελῶς, εἶτα ἀρδεύεται 
διὰ τετάρτης ἢ πέμπτης ἡμέρας: ὅταν δὲ ἁδρὸν 
ἢ, διαφυτεύεται πάλιν τοῦ ἔαρος εἰς χωρίον μα- 
λακὸν καὶ ἔφυδρον καὶ οὐ λίαν λεπτόν: φιλεῖ 
γὰρ τὰ τοιαῦτα. Peper δὲ Ta μῆλα. πᾶσαν ὥραν' 
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἀφήρηται τὰ δὲ ἀνθεῖ τὰ δὲ ἐκπέττει. 
τῶν δὲ ἀνθῶν ὃ ὅσα, ὥσπερ εἴπομεν, ἔχει καθάπερ 
ἠλακάτην ἐκ μέσου τιν᾽ ἐξέχουσαν, ταῦτά ἐστι 
γόνιμα, ὅσα δὲ μὴ ἄγονα. σπείρεται δὲ καὶ εἰς 
ὄστρακα διατετρημένα, καθάπερ καὶ οἱ φοίνικες. 
τοῦτο μὲν οὖν, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, περὶ τὴν Περσίδα 
καὶ τὴν Μηδίαν ἐστίν. 
Ἢ δὲ Ἰνδικὴ χώρα τήν τε καλουμένην ἔχει 
ἡ χώρα τή μένην ἔχε 
συκῆν, ἣ καθίησιν ἐκ τῶν κλάδων τὰς ῥίζας ἀν᾽ 
ἕκαστον ἔτος, ὥσπερ εἴρηται πρότερον" ἀφίησι 
δὲ οὐκ ἐκ τῶν νέων GAN ἐκ τῶν ἔνων καὶ ἔτι 
παλαιοτέρων: αὗται δὲ συνάπτουσαι τῇ γῇ 
ποιοῦσιν ὥσπερ δρύφακτον κύκλῳ περὶ τὸ δέν- 
Spov, ὥστε γίνεσθαι καθάπερ σκηνήν, οὗ δὴ καὶ 


1 ris add. W. from Athen. ἐ.ς.; θανάσιμον. . . φάρμακον 
add. Sch. from Athen. J.c. 2° Pl 11: 7819. 10 

3 ἁδρὸν ἢ W. from Athen. l.c., whence διαφυτεύεται W. etc. 
for διαφυτεύηται Ald.H. ἁδρόν τι UMVAId. 


312 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. tv. 2-4 


eaten, but it is very fragrant, as also is the leaf of the 
tree. And if the ‘apple’ is placed among clothes, 
it keeps them from being moth-eaten. It is also 
useful when one? has drunk deadly poison ; for being 
given in wine it upsets the stomach and brings up the 
poison ; also for producing sweetness of breath;? 
for, if one boils the inner part of the ‘apple’ in a 
sauce, or squeezes it into the mouth in some other 
medium, and then inhales it, it makes the breath 
sweet. The seed is taken from the fruit and sown 
in spring in carefully tilled beds, and is then watered 
every fourth or fifth day. And, when it is growing 
vigorously,? it is transplanted, also in spring, to a 
soft well-watered place, where the soil is not too 
fine; for such places itloves. And it bearsits ‘apples’ 
at all seasons; for when some have been gathered, 
the flower of others is on the tree and it is ripening 
others. Of the flowers, as we have said,‘ those 
which have, as it were, a distaff> projecting in the 
middle are fertile, while those that have it not are 
infertile. It is also sown, like date-palms, in pots ὃ 
with a hole in them. This tree, as has been said, 
grows in Persia and Media. 

‘The Indian land has its so-called “ fig-tree’ 
(banyan), which drops its roots from its branches 
every year, as has been said above®; and it drops 
them, not from the new branches, but from those 
of last year or even from older ones; these take 
hold of the earth and make, as it were, a fence 
about the tree, so that it becomes like a tent, in 

41.13. 4. 5 i.e. the pistil. 

6 Plin. 12. 16, fictilibus in vasis, dato per cavernas radicibus 
spiramento : the object, as Plin. explains, was to export it 
for medical use. 


1 ΡΠ 12.22 and 23: SLs 3: 
31:2 


THEOPHRASTUS 


εἰώθασι διατρίβειν. εἰσὶ δὲ αἱ ῥίξαι φυόμεναι 
διάδηλοι πρὸς τοὺς βχαστούς: λευκότεραι γὰρ 
καὶ δασεῖαι καὶ σκολιαὶ καὶ ἄφυλλοι. ἔχει δὲ 
καὶ τὴν ἄνω κόμην πολλήν, καὶ τὸ ὅλον δένδρον 
εὔκυκλον καὶ τῷ μεγέθει μέγα σφόδρα" καὶ γὰρ 
ἐπὶ δύο στάδια ποιεῖν pace τὴν σκιάν' καὶ τὸ 
πάχος τοῦ στελέχους ἔνια πλειόνων ἢ ἑξήκοντα 
βημάτων, τὰ δὲ πολλὰ τετταράκοντα. τὸ δέ γε 
φύλλον οὐκ ἔλαττον ἔχει πέλτης, καρπὸν δὲ 
σφόδρα μικρὸν ἡλίκον ἐρέβινθον ὅ ὅμοιον δὲ σύκῳ" 
δι᾿ ὃ καὶ ἐκάλουν αὐτὸ οἱ “Ἑλληνες συκῆν" ὀλίγον 
δὲ θαυμαστῶς τὸν καρπὸν οὐχ ὅτι κατὰ τὸ τοῦ 
δένδρου μέγεθος ἀχλὰ καὶ τὸ ὅλον. φύεται δὲ 
καὶ τὸ δένδρον περὶ τὸν ᾿Ακεσίνην ποταμόν. 

"Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἕτερον δένδρον καὶ τῷ μεγέθει 
μέγα καὶ ἡδύκαρπον θαυμαστῶς καὶ μεγαλό- 
καρπον" καὶ χρῶνται τροφῇ τῶν ᾿Ινδῶν οἱ σοφοὶ 
καὶ μὴ ἀμπεχόμενοι. 

“Ἕτερον δὲ οὗ τὸ φύλλον τὴν μὲν μορφὴν 
πρόμηκες τοῖς τῶν στρουθῶν πτεροῖς ὅμοιον, ἃ 
παρατίθενται παρὰ τὰ κράνη, μῆκος δὲ ὡς 
διπηχυαῖον. 

Ἄλλο τέ ἐστιν οὗ ὁ καρπὸς μακρὸς καὶ οὐκ 
εὐθὺς ἀλλὰ σκολιὸς ἐσθιόμενος δὲ γλυκύς. οὗτος 
ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ δηγμὸν ἐμποιεῖ καὶ δυσεντερίαν, δι᾿ 

ὃ ᾿Αλέξανδρος, ἀπεκήρυξε μὴ ἐσθίειν. ἔστι δὲ 
καὶ ἕτερον οὗ ὁ καρπὸς ὅμοιος τοῖς κρανέοις. 





1 οὗ conj. W.; αἷς UMVAId. 

2 ἄφυλλοι conj. Dalec.; δίφυλλοι UVAId.; so also MH., 
omitting καὶ. 

3 ἐξήκοντα. .. τετταράκοντα MSS.; €&.. τεττάρων conj. 


Salm. ef. Plin. 7.6.5. Strabo 15. 1. 21, 
314 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, LV... 4-5 


which Ὁ men sometimes even live. The roots as they 
grow are easily distinguished from the branches, 
being whiter hairy crooked and _ leafiess.2 The 
foliage above is also abundant, and the whole tree is 
round and exceedingly large. ‘They say that it 
extends its shade for as much as two furlongs; and 
the thickness of the stem is in some instances more 
than sixty? paces, while many specimens are as 
much as forty? paces through. The leaf is quite as 
large as a shield,* but the fruit is very small,° only as 
large as a chick-pea, and it resembles a fig. And 
this is why the Greeks © named this tree a " fig-tree.’ 
The fruit is curiously scanty, not only relatively to 
the size of the tree, but absolutely. The tree also 
grows near the river Akesines.! 

There is also another tree® which is very large 
and has wonderfully sweet and large fruit; it is 
used for food by the sages of India who wear no 
clothes. 

There is another tree® whose leaf is oblong in 
shape, like the feathers of the ostrich; this they 
fasten on to their helmets, and it is about two cubits 
long. 

There is also another !° whose fruit is long and not 
straight, but crooked, and it is sweet to the taste. 
This causes griping in the stomach and dysentery ; 
wherefore Alexander ordered that it should not be 
eaten. There is also another}! whose fruit is like the 
fruit of the cornelian cherry. 

4 πέλτη : ἃ Small round shield. nel et ΣΦ ΤΣ: 
δ 7,6. in Alexander’s expedition. 7 Chenab. 

8 Jack-fruit. See Index App. (3). Plin. 12, 24, 

‘ Banana. See Index App. (4). 


10 Mango. See Index App. (5). Plin. 12. 24, 
N Jujube. See Index App. (6). 


51: 


6 


7 


8 


THEOPHRASTUS 


/ a 
Kai ἕτερα δὲ πλείω καὶ διαφέροντα τῶν ἐν 
τοῖς “EXAnow ἀλλ’ ἀνώνυμα. θαυμαστὸν δ᾽ 
»O\ - » , \ / ee / / 
οὐδὲν THs ἰδιότητος" σχεδὸν γάρ, ὥς γε δή τινές 
φασιν, οὐθὲν ὅλως τῶν δένδρων οὐδὲ τῶν ὑλη- 
μάτων οὐδὲ τῶν ποιωδῶν ὅμοιόν ἐστι τοῖς ἐν τῇ 
Ἑλλάδι πλὴν ὀλίγων. 
” \ \ (Soe / “ , 4 / 
Idcov δὲ καὶ ἡ ἐβένη τῆς χώρας ταύτης" ταύτης 
x / , Ν \ LA \ \ ἣν \ 
δὲ δύο γένη, TO μὲν evEVAOY Kal καλὸν TO δὲ 
lal / \ \ \ δ, \ / 
φαῦλον. σπάνιον δὲ τὸ καλὸν θάτερον δὲ πολύ. 
\ \ / > / / \ 
τὴν δὲ χρόαν ov θησαυριζομένη λαμβάνει τὴν 
7 ) » ᾽ \ a / ” \ \ / 
εὔχρουν ἀλλ᾽ εὐθὺς TH φύσει. ἔστι δὲ τὸ δένδρον 
lal ¢ . 
θαμνῶδες, ὥσπερ ὁ κύτισος. 
Φ Ν δ᾽ > \ / θ Μ᾽ δ᾽ “ 
ασὶ εἶναι καὶ τέρμινθον, οἱ ὅμοιον 
/ ἃ Ν \ / \ \ a \ 
τερμίνθῳ, ὃ TO μὲν φύλλον καὶ TOUS κλῶνας καὶ 
5 / “ yy a / \ \ 
τἄλλα πάντα ὅμοια ἔχει TH τερμίνθῳ τὸν δὲ 
καρπὸν διάφορον: ὅμοιον γὰρ ταῖς ἀμυγδαλαῖς. 
\ 
εἶναι yap καὶ ἐν Βάκτροις τὴν τέρμινθον ταύτην 
\ / / ¢€ / > / \ \ ‘ 
Kal κάρυα φέρειν ἡλίκα ἀμύγδαλα διὰ τὸ μὴ 
A \ / 
μεγάλα: καὶ τῇ ὄψει δὲ παρόμοια, πλὴν TO 
A ᾽ ;ῃ: “ 
κέλυφος οὐ τραχύ, τῇ δ᾽ εὐστομίᾳ καὶ ἡδονῇ 
al ᾽ a 
κρείττω τῶν ἀμυγδάλων. δι᾽ ὃ Kal χρῆσθαι τοὺς 
ἐκεῖ μᾶλλον. 
\ ΄ , fa \ \ 
"EE ὧν δὲ τὰ ἱμάτια ποιοῦσι TO μὲν φύλλον 
»- / “-“ 
ὅμοιον ἔχει τῇ συκαμίνῳ, τὸ δὲ ὅλον φυτὸν τοῖς 
/ δ / a 
κυνορόδοις ὅμοιον. φυτεύουσι δὲ ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις 
v A / a 
αὐτὸ Kat ὄρχους, δι’ ὃ Kal πόρρωθεν ἀφορῶσι 
»Μ / 4 \ \ , Ν 
ἄμπελοι φαίνονται. ἔχει δὲ καὶ φοίνικας ἔνια 





1 Plin. 12. 25. 

3 See Index. Plin. 12. 17-19. 

3 Pistachio-nut. See Index App. (7). Plin. 12. 25. Nic. 
Ther. 894. 


316 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. tv. 5-8 


There are also many more! which are different to 
those found among the Hellenes, but they have no 
names. There is nothing surprising in the fact that 
these trees have so special a character; indeed, as 
some say, there is hardly a single tree or shrub or 
herbaceous plant, except quite a few, like those in 
Hellas. 

The ebony? is also peculiar to this country; of 
this there are two kinds, one with good handsome 
wood, the other inferior. The better sort is rare, but 
the inferior one is common. It does not acquire its 
good colour by being kept, but it is natural to it from 
the first. The tree is bushy, like laburnum. 

Some say that a ‘terebinth’* grows there also, 
others that it is a tree like the terebinth; this in 
leaf twigs and all other respects resembles that 
tree, but the fruit is different, being like almonds. 
In fact they say that this sort of terebinth grows also 
in Bactria and bears nuts only as big as almonds, 
inasmuch as they are not large for the size of the 
tree *; and they closely resemble almonds in appear- 
ance, except that the shell is not rough; and in 
palatableness and sweetness they are superior to 
almonds; wherefore the people of the country use 
them in preference to almonds. 

5The trees from which they make their clothes 
have a leaf like the mulberry, but the whole tree 
resembles the wild rose. They plant them in the 
plains in rows, wherefore, when seen from a distance, 
they look like vines. Some parts also have many 


4 διὰ... péyada: Sch. omits these words, and W. con- 
siders them corrupt; but G seems to have had them in his 
text. The translation is tentative. 

5 Cotton-plant. qf 4. 7. 7and8. Plin. 12. 25. 


317 


10 


11 


THEOPHRASTUS 


μέρη πολλούς. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἐν δένδροι 
φύσει. 

Φέρει δὲ καὶ σπέρματα ἴδια, τὰ μὲν τοῖς 
χεδροποῖς ὅμοια τὰ δὲ τοῖς “πυροῖς καὶ ταῖς 
κριθαῖς. ἐρέβινθος μὲν γὰρ καὶ φακὸς καὶ τᾶλλα 
τὰ Tap ἡμῖν οὐκ ἔστιν: ἕτερα δ᾽ ἐστὶν ὥστε 
παραπλήσια, ποιεῖν τὰ ἑψήματα καὶ μὴ δια- 
γιγνώσκειν, ὥς φασιν, ἂν μή τίς ἀκούσῃ. κριθαὶ 
δὲ καὶ πυροὶ καὶ ἄλλο τι γένος ἀγρίων κριθῶν, 
ἐξ ὧν καὶ ἄρτοι ἡδεῖς καὶ χόνδρος καλός. ταύτας 
οἱ ἵπποι ἐσθίοντες τὸ πρῶτον διεφθείροντο, κατὰ 
μικρὸν δὲ οὖν ἐθισθέντες ἐν ἀχύροις οὐδὲν 
i 
ἔπασχον. 

Μάλιστα δὲ σπείρουσι τὸ καλούμενον ὄρυξζον, 
ἐξ οὗ τὸ ἕψημα. τοῦτο δὲ ὅμοιον τῇ ξειᾷ καὶ 
περιπτισθὲν οἷον χόνδρος εὔπεπτον δέ, τὴν ὄψιν 
πεφυκὸς ὅμοιον ταῖς αἴραις καὶ τὸν πολὺν χρόνον 
ἐν ὕδατι, “ἀποχεῖται δὲ οὐκ εἰς στάχυν ἀλλ᾽ οἷον 
φόβην, ὥσπερ, ὁ κέγχρος καὶ ὁ ἔλυμος. ἄλλο δὲ 
ὃ ἐκάλουν οἱ “EdAnves φακόν' τοῦτο δὲ ὅμοιον 
μὲν τῇ ὄψει καὶ τὸ βούκερας, θερίζεται δὲ περὶ 
Πλειάδος δύσιν. 

Διαφέρει δὲ καὶ αὕτη ἡ χώρα͵ τῷ τὴν μὲν 
φέρειν ἔνια τὴν δὲ μὴ φέρειν" 7 γὰρ ὀρεινὴ καὶ 
ἄμπελον ἔχει καὶ ἐλάαν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἀκρόδρυα. 
πλὴν ἄκαρπον τὴν ἐλάαν, καὶ σχεδὸν καὶ τὴν 
φύσιν ὥσπερ μεταξὺ κοτίνου καὶ ἐλάας ἐστὶ καὶ 


1 cf. 8. 4. 2. whence it appears that the original text here 
contained a fuller account. Plin. 18. 71. 

2 Sorghum halepense. 3 Se. of Alexander, 

4 The verb seems to have dropped out (W.). 


318 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. tv. 8-11 


date-palms. So much for what come under the 
heading of ‘ trees.’ 

These lands bear also peculiar grains, some like 
those of leguminous plants, some like wheat and 
barley. For the chick-pea lentil and other such 
plants found in our country do not occur; but there 
are others, so that they make similar mashes, and 
one cannot, they say, tell the difference, unless one 
has been told. They have however barley wheat! 
and another kind of wild barley,? which makes sweet 
bread and good porridge. When the horses? ate 
this, at first it proved fatal to them, but by degrees 
they became accustomed to it mixed with bran and 
took no hurt. 

But above all they sow the cereal called rice, of 
which they make their mash. This is like rice-wheat, 
and when bruised makes a sort of porridge, which is 
easily digested ; in its appearance as it grows it is 
like darnel, and for most of its time of growth it is4 
in water; however it shoots® up not into an ear, but 
as it were into a plume,® like the millet and Italian 
millet. There was another plant’ which the Hel- 
lenes® called lentil; this is like in appearance to 
‘ox-horn’ (fenugreek), but it is reaped about the 
setting of the Pleiad. 

Moreover this country shews differences in that 
part of it bears certain things which another part 
does not; thus the mountain country has the vine 
and olive and the other fruit-trees ; but the olive is 
barren,® and in its character it is as it were almost 
between a wild and a cultivated olive, and so it 


5 ἀποχεῖται: cf. 8. 8. 1. 6 cf. 8: 3. 4. 
7 Phaseolus Mungo; see Index App. (8). 
8 7.e. of Alexander’s expedition. SOP hin 12.14, 


319 


12 


13 


THEOPHRASTUS 


a 


τῇ ὅλῃ μορφῇ: καὶ τὸ φύλλον τοῦ μὲν πλατύ- 
τερον τοῦ δὲ στενότερον. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν κατὰ 
τὴν Ἰνδικήν. 

Ἔν δὲ τῇ Apia χώρᾳ καλουμένῃ ἄκανθά ἐ ἐστιν, 
ἐφ᾽ ἧς γίνεται δάκρυον ὅμοιον τῇ σμύρνῃ καὶ τῇ 
ὄψει καὶ τῇ ὀσμῇ: τοῦτο δὲ ὅταν ἐπιλάμψῃ ὁ 
ἥλιος καταρρεῖ. πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα παρὰ τὰ 
ἐνταῦθα καὶ ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ποταμοῖς 
γίνεται. ἐν ἑτέροις δὲ τόποις ἐστὶν ἄκανθα λευκὴ 
τρίοζος, ἐξ ἧς καὶ σκυτάλια καὶ βακτηρίας ποι- 
οῦσιν" ὀπώδης δὲ καὶ μανή" ταύτην δὲ καλοῦσιν 
Ἡρακλέους. 

Ἄλλο δὲ ὕλημα μέγεθος μεν ἡλίκον ῥάφανος, 
τὸ δὲ φύλλον ὅμοιον δάφνῃ καὶ τῷ μεγέθει καὶ 
τῇ μορφῇ. τοῦτο δ᾽ εἴ τι φάγοι ἐναποθνήσκει. 
tL ὃ καὶ ὅπου ἵπποι τούτους ἐφύλαττον διὰ 
χειρῶν. 

Ἔν δὲ τῇ Γεδρωσίᾳ χώρᾳ πεφυκέναι φασὶν ἃ ἕν 
μὲν ὅμοιον τῇ δάφνῃ φύλλον ἐ ἔχον, οὗ τὰ ὑποζύγια 
καὶ ὁτιοῦν εἰ φάγοι μικρὸν ἐπισχόντα διεφθεί- 
povto παραπλησίως διατιθέμενα καὶ σπώμενα 
ὁμοίως τοῖς ἐπιλήπτοις. 

“Ἕτερον δὲ ἄκανθάν τινα εἶναι" ταύτην δὲ 
φύλλον μὲν οὐδὲν ἔχειν. πεφυκέναι δ᾽ ἐκ μιᾶς 
ῥίζης" ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ δὲ τῶν ὄζων ἄκανθαν ἔχειν 
ὀξεῖαν σφόδρα, καὶ τούτων δὲ καταγνυμένων ἢ 
προστριβομένων ὀπὸν ἐκρεῖν πολύν, ὃς ἀποτυφλοῖ 





1 καὶ σχεδὸν... μορφῇ conj. W.; σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ τὴν φύσιν 
ὥσπερ μετ. Kot. καὶ ἐλ. ἐστι δὲ τῇ ὅλῃ μορφῇ καὶ τὸ φ. Ald.; so 
also U, omitting the first καί. 

2 Balsamodendron Mukul; see Index App. (9). Plin. 12 
33. 


320 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. tv. 11-13 


is also in its general appearance,! and the leaf is 
broader than that of the one and narrower than that 
of the other. So much for the Indian land. 

In the country called Aria there is a ‘thorn’? 
on which is found a gum resembling myrrh? in 
appearance and smell, and this drops when the sun 
shines on it. There are also many other plants 
besides those of our land, both in the country and in 
its rivers. In other parts there is a white ‘thorn’ # 
which branches in three, of which they make batons 
and sticks; its wood is sappy and of loose texture, 
and they call it the thorn ‘ of Herakles.’ 

There is another shrub® as large as a cabbage, 
whose leaf is like that of the bay in size and shape. 
And if any animal should eat this, it is certain to die 
of it. Wherefore, wherever there were horses,® they 
kept them under control. 

In Gedrosia they say that there grows one tree? 
with a leaf like that of the bay, of which if the 
beasts or anything else ate, they very shortly died 
with the same convulsive symptoms as in epilepsy. 

And they say that another tree 8 there is a sort of 
‘thorn’ (spurge), and that this has no Jeaf and grows 
from a single root ; and on each of its branches it has 
a very sharp spine, and if these are broken or bruised 
a quantity of juice flows out, which blinds animals or 


3 σμύρνῃ conj. Sch. from 9. 1. 2; Plin. J.c.; τῇ ἰλλυρίᾳ Ald. H. 

4 See Index. 

5. Asafoetida ; see Index App. (10). Plin. 12. 33. 

δ 7.e. in Alexander’s expedition. Probably a verb, such 
as ὠσφραίνοντο, has dropped out after ἵπποι (Sch.). Odore 
equos invitans Plin. l.c. 

7 Nerium odorum ; see Index App. (11). ef. 4. 4. 13; Strabo 
15.25 7 3,Phn. Je. 

8 Plin. l.c.; Arrian, Anab. 6. 22. 7. 


321 


14 


2 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Tara ζῶα πάντα καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους εἴ 
τις προσραΐνειεν αὐτοῖς. ἐν δὲ τόποις τισὶ πεφυ- 
κέναι τινὰ βοτάνην, ὑφ᾽ ἡ συνεσπειρωμένους ὄφεις 
εἶναι μικροὺς σφόδρα' τούτοις δ᾽ εἴ τις ἐμβὰς 
πληγείη θνήσκειν. ἀποπνίγεσθαι δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ 
τῶν φοινικων τῶν ὠμῶν εἴ τις φάγοι, καὶ τοῦτο 
ὕστερον κατανοηθῆναι. τοιαῦται μὲν οὖν δυνά- 
pers καὶ ζώων καὶ φυτῶν ἴσως καὶ παρ᾽ ἄλλοις 
? 

εἰσί. 

Ilepittotepa δὲ τῶν φυομενων καὶ πλεῖστον 
ἐξηλλαγμένα πρὸς τὰ ἄλλα τὰ εὔοσμα τὰ περὶ 
᾿Αραβίαν καὶ Συρίαν καὶ ᾿Ινδούς, οἷον ὅ τε 
λιβανωτὸς καὶ ἡ σμύρνα καὶ ἡ κασία καὶ τὸ 
ὀποβάλσαμον καὶ τὸ κινάμωμον καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα 
τοιαῦτα: περὶ ὧν ἐν ἄλλοις εἴρηται διὰ πλειόνων. 
ἐν μὲν οὖν τοῖς πρὸς ἕω τε καὶ μεσημβρίαν καὶ 
ταῦτ᾽ ἴδια καὶ ἕτερα δὲ τούτων πλείω ἐστίν. 

V. ἢν δὲ τοῖς πρὸς ἄρκτον οὐχ ὁμοίως" οὐθὲν 
γὰρ ὅτι ἄξιον λόγου λέγεται παρὰ τὰ κοινὰ τῶν 
δένδρων ἃ καὶ φιλόψυχρά τε τυγχάνει καὶ ἔστι 
καὶ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν, οἷον πεύκη δρῦς ἐλάτη πύξος 
διοσβάλανος φίλυρα καὶ τὰ ἄλλα δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα: 
σχεδὸν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἕτερον παρὰ ταῦτά ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ 
τῶν ἄλλων ὑλημάτων ἔνια ἃ τοὺς ψυχροὺς 
μᾶλλον ξητεῖ τόπους, καθάπερ, KEV ταύριον 
ἀψίνθιον, ἐ ἔτι δὲ τὰ φαρμακώδη ταῖς ῥίζαις καὶ 
τοῖς ὁποῖς, οἷον ἐλλέβορος ἐλατήριον σκαμμωνία, 
σχεδὸν πάντα τὰ ῥιξζοτομούμενα. 

Ta μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῷ Πόντῳ καὶ τῇ Θράκῃ γίνεται, 


1 τὰ ἀλλὰ δὲ : Pom, τὰ ; δὲ om. Sch, 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. tv. 13~-v. 2 


even a man, if any drops of it should fall on him. 
Also they say that in some parts grows a herb under 
which very small snakes lie coiled up, and that, if 
anyone treads on these and is bitten, he dies. They 
also say that, if anyone should eat of unripe dates, 
he chokes to death, and that this fact was not 
discovered at first. Now it may be that animals and 
plants have such properties elsewhere also. 

Among the plants that grow in Arabia Syria and 
India the aromatic plants are somewhat exceptional 
and distinct from the plants of other lands; for 
instance, frankincense myrrh cassia balsam of Mecca 
cinnamon and all other such plants, about which we 
have spoken at greater length elsewhere. So in 
the parts towards the east and south there are these 
special plants and many others besides. 


Of the plants special to northern regions. 


V. In the northern regions it is not so, for nothing 
worthy of record is mentioned except the ordinary 
trees which love the cold and are found also in our 
country, as fir oak silver-fir box chestnut lime, as 
well as other similar trees. There is hardly any 
other! besides these; but of shrubs there are some 
which for choice 2 seek cold regions, as centaury and 
wormwood, and further those that have medicinal 
properties in their roots and juices, such as hellebore 
squirting cucumber scammony, and nearly all those 
whose roots are gathered. 

Some of these grow in Pontus and Thrace, some 


21 have moved μᾶλλον, which in the MSS. comes before 
τῶν ἄλλων. 
* 4.e. which have medicinal uses, 


323 


THEOPHRASTUS 


τὰ δὲ περὶ τὴν Οἴτην καὶ τὸν Παρνασὸν καὶ τὸ 
Πήλιον καὶ τὴν Ὄσσαν καὶ τὸ Τελέθριον' καὶ ἐν 
τούτοις δέ τινές φασι πλεῖστον: πολλὰ δὲ καὶ 
ἐν τῇ ᾿Αρκαδίᾳ καὶ ἐν τῇ Λακωνικῇ: φαρμακώδεις 
γὰρ καὶ αὗται. τῶν δὲ εὐωδῶν οὐδὲν ἐ ἐν ταύταις, 
πλὴν (pes ἐν τῇ ᾿λλυρίδι καὶ περὶ τὸν ᾿Αδρίαν' 
ταύτῃ γὰρ χρηστὴ καὶ πολὺ διαφέρουσα τῶν 
ἄλλων: ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἀλεεινοῖς καὶ τοῖς πρὸς 
μεσημβρίαν ὥσπερ ἀντικείμενα τὰ εὐώδη. ἔχουσι 
δὲ καὶ κυπάριττον οἱ ἀλεεινοὶ μᾶλλον, ὥσπερ 
Κρήτη Λυκία “Ῥόδος, κέδρον δὲ καὶ τὰ Opaxia 
ὄρη καὶ τὰ Φρύγια. 

Τῶν δὲ ἡμερουμένων ἥκιστά φασιν ἐν τοῖς 
ψυχροῖς ὑπομένειν δάφνην καὶ μυρρίνην, καὶ 
τούτων δὲ ἧττον ἔτι τὴν μυρρίνην' σημεῖον δὲ 
λέγουσιν OTL ἐν τῷ ᾿Ολύμπῳ δάφνη μὲν πολλή, 
μύρρινος δὲ ὅλως οὐκ ἔστιν. ἐν δὲ τῷ Πόντῳ 
περὶ Παντικάπαιον οὐδ᾽ ἕτερον καίπερ σπουδα- 
ζόντων καὶ πάντα μηχανωμένων πρὸς τὰς ἱερο- 
σύνας: συκαὶ δὲ πολλαὶ καὶ εὐμεγέθεις καὶ 
ῥοιαὶ δὲ περισκεπαζόμεναι' ἄπιοι δὲ καὶ μηλέαι 
πλεῖσται καὶ παντοδαπώταται καὶ χρησταί: 
αὗται & ἐαριναὶ πλὴν εἰ ἄρα ὄψιαι' τῆς δὲ 
ἀγρίας ὕλης ἐστὶ δρῦς πτελέα μελία καὶ ὅσα 
τοιαῦτα: πεύκη δὲ καὶ ἐλάτη καὶ πίτυς οὐκ ἔστι: 
οὐδὲ ὅλως οὐδὲν ἔνδᾳδον'" ὑγρὰ δὲ αὕτη καὶ 
χείρων πολὺ τῆς Σινωπικῆς, ὥστ᾽ οὐδὲ πολὺ 
χρῶνται αὐτῇ πλὴν πρὸς τὰ ὑπαίθρια. ταῦτα 


1 Τελέθριον conj. Sch. (in Euboea), cf. 9. 15. 43; Πελέθριο» 
UMVP;; παρθένιον Ald.G. 

2 Whose rhizome was used for perfumes ; ef. 1. 7.2; de 
odor. 22, 23. 28. 32; Dykes, 7'he Genus Iris, Ὁ. 237, gives an 
interesting account of the modern uses of ‘ orris-root.’ 


324 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. v. 2-3 


about Oeta Parnassus Pelion Ossa and Telethrion,} 
and in these parts some say that there is great abund- 
ance; so also is there in Arcadia and Laconia, for 
these districts too produce medicinal plants. But of 
the aromatic plants none grows in these lands, except 
the iris? in Illyria on the shores of the Adriatic; for 
here it is excellent and far superior to that which 
grows elsewhere ; but in hot places and those which 
face the south the fragrant plants grow, as if by con- 
trast to the medicinal plants. And the warm places 
have also the cypress in greater abundance; for in- 
stance, Crete Lycia Rhodes, while the prickly cedar 
grows in the Thracian and the Phrygian mountains. 
Of cultivated plants they say that those least 
able to thrive in cold regions are the bay and 
myrtle, especially the myrtle, and they give for 
proof ?that on Mount Olympus the bay is abundant, 
but the myrtle does not occur at all. In Pontus 
about Panticapaeum neither grows, though they are 
anxious to grow them and take special pains‘ to do 
so for religious purposes. But there are many well 
grown fig-trees and pomegranates, which are given 
shelter; pears and apples are abundant in a great 
variety of forms and are excellent. These are spring- 
fruiting trees, except that they may fruit later here 
than elsewhere. Of wild trees there are oak elm 
manna-ash and the like (while there is no fir silver- 
fir nor Aleppo pine, nor indeed any resinous tree). 
But the wood of such trees® in this country is damp 
and much inferior to that of Sinope, so that they do 
not much use it except for outdoor purposes. § These 


2 Phin. 10: 197 
4 Plin., /.c., says that Mithridates made this attempt. 
5 se. oak, etc. 


2295 


5 


6 


THEOPHRASTUS 


μὲν οὖν περὶ tov Πόντον ἢ ἔν τισί γε τόποις 
αὐτοῦ. 

Ἔν δὲ τῇ Προποντίδι γίνεται καὶ μύρρινος καὶ 
δάφνη πολλαχοῦ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν. ἴσως δ᾽ ἔνια 
καὶ τῶν τόπων ἴδια θετέον" ἕκαστοι γὰρ ἔχουσι 
τὰ διαφέροντα, ὥ ὥσπερ εἴρηται, κατὰ τὰς ὕλας οὐ 
μόνον τῷ βελτίω καὶ χείρω τὴν «αὐτὴν ἔχειν ἀλλὰ 
καὶ τῷ φέρειν ἢ μὴ φέρειν' οἷον ὁ μὲν Τμῶλος 
ἔχει καὶ ὁ Μύσιος Ὄλυμπος πολὺ τὸ κάρυον 
καὶ τὴν διοσβάλανον, ἐ ἔτι δὲ ἄμπελον καὶ μηλέαν 
καὶ ῥόαν' ἡ δὲ Ἴδη τὰ μὲν οὐκ ἔχει, τούτων τὰ 
δὲ σπάνια: περὶ δὲ Μακεδονίαν καὶ τὸν Teepucov 
Ὄλυμπον τὰ μὲν ἔστι τὰ δ᾽ οὐκ ἔστι τούτων' ἐν 
δὲ τῇ Εὐβοίᾳ καὶ περὶ τὴν Μαγνησίαν τὰ μὲν 
Εὐβοϊκὰ πολλὰ τῶν δὲ ἄχλων οὐθέν: οὐδὲ δὴ περὶ 
τὸ ΤΠέλιον οὐδὲ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ ἐνταῦθα ¢ ὄρη. 

Βραχὺς δ᾽ ἐστὶ τόπος ὃς ἔχει καὶ ὅλως τὴν 
ναυπηγήσιμον ὕλην" τῆς μὲν γὰρ ὐρώπης δοκεῖ 
τὰ περὶ τὴν Μακεδονίαν καὶ ὅσα τῆς Θρᾷκης καὶ 
περὶ ᾿Ιταλίαν’ τῆς δὲ ᾿Ασίας τά τε ἐν Κιλικίᾳ 
καὶ τὰ ἐν Σινώπῃ καὶ ᾿Αμίσῳ, ἐ ἔτι δὲ ὁ Μύσιος 
᾿Ογυσσος καὶ ἢ Ἴδη πλὴν οὐ πολλήν' ἡ γὰρ 
Συρία κέδρον ἔχει καὶ ταύτῃ χρῶνται πρὸς τὰς 
τριήρεις. 

᾿Αλλὰ καὶ τὰ φίλυδρα καὶ τὰ παραποτάμια 
ταῦθ᾽ ὁμοίως" ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῷ ᾿Αδρίᾳ πλάτανον οὔ 
φασιν εἶναι πλὴν περὶ τὸ Διομήδους ἱερόν" 
σπανίαν δὲ καὶ ἐν Ἱταλίᾳ πάσῃ" καίτοι πολλοὶ 
καὶ μεγάλοι ποταμοὶ παρ᾽ ἀμφοῖν: ἀλλ᾽’ οὐκ 


1 See Index. 
2 καὶ ὅσα: text probably defective, but sense clear. 7 καὶ 
ὅσα THs Θ. ἔχει καὶ Ta περὶ Ἰ1. 


226 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. v. 3-6 


are the trees of Pontus, or at least of certain districts 
of that country. 

In the land of Propontis myrtle and bay are 
found in many places on the mountains. Perhaps 
however some trees should be put down as special 
to particular places. For each district, as has been 
said, has different trees, differing not only in that the 
same trees occur but of variable quality, but also as 
to producing or not producing some particular tree. 
For instance, Tmolus and the Mysian Olympus have 
the hazel and chestnut! in abundance, and also the 
vine apple and pomegranate; while Mount Ida has 
some of these not at all and others only in small 
quantity ; and in Macedonia and on the Pierian 
Olympus some of these occur, but not others; and 
in Euboea and Magnesia the sweet chestnut ! is com- 
mon, but none of the others is found; nor yet on 
Pelion or the other mountains of that region. 

Again it is only a narrow extent of country which 
produces wood fit for shipbuilding at all, namely in 
Europe the Macedonian region, and certain parts? 
of Thrace and Italy; in Asia Cilicia Sinope and 
Amisus, and also the Mysian Olympus, and Mount 
Ida; but in these parts it is not abundant. For Syria 
has Syrian cedar, and they use this for their galleys. 

The like is true of trees which love water and 
the riverside; in the Adriatic region they say that 
the plane is not found, except near the Shrine of 
Diomedes,? and that it is scarce throughout Italy ¢; 
yet there are many large rivers in both countries, 
in spite of which the localities do not seem to 


3 On one of the islands of Diomedes, off the coast of 
Apulia; now called Isole di Tremiti. ef. Plin. 12. 6. 
ONG Patera) π᾿ 


327 


THEOPHRASTUS 


v ͵ e , a4 1€ , Anew , 
ἔοικε φέρειν ὁ τόπος" ἐν Ῥηγίῳ γοῦν ἃς Διονύσιος 
/ e / > / > a 
πρεσβύτερος ὁ τύραννος ἐφύτευσεν ἐν τῷ παρα- 
/ [24 ’ lal » “ , -“ 
δείσῳ, αἵ εἰσι νῦν ἐν τῷ γυμνασίῳ, φιλοτιμηθεῖσαι 

> 4 - / 
ov δεδύνηνται λαβεῖν μέγεθος. 
» Ν / f 
Eviot δὲ πλείστην ἔχουσι πλάτανον, οἱ δὲ 
bape aay « \ /, “ « 
πτελέαν καὶ ἐἰτέαν, οἱ δὲ μυρίκην, ὥσπερ ὁ Αἷμος. 
\ a / lal 
ὥστε τὰ μὲν τοιαῦτα, καθάπερ ἐλέχθη, TOV τόπων 
/ ¢ / a r 
ἴδια θετέον ὁμοίως ἔν τε τοῖς ἀγρίοις Kal τοῖς 
ς / >’ \ > \ / ᾽ bal yy \ A 
ἡμέροις. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τάχ ἂν εἴη καὶ τούτων 
, Ψ / / 
ἐπί τινων ὥστε διακοσμηθέντων δύνασθαι τὴν 
΄ / A \ lal a Ἐν Ψ δε 
χώραν φέρειν, ὃ καὶ νῦν ξυμβαῖνον ὁρῶμεν καὶ 
ἐπὶ ζώων ἐνίων καὶ φυτῶν. 
/ \ \ n “ 
VI. Μεγίστην δὲ διαφορὰν αὐτῆς τῆς φύσεως 
“ / \ ψ La) nr e / ig 
τῶν δένδρων Kal ἁπλῶς TOV ὑλημάτων ὑπολη- 
\ 4 4 \ \ 
πτέον ἣν καὶ πρότερον εἴπομεν, OTL TA μὲν ἔγγαια 
τὰ δ᾽ ἔνυδρα τυγχάνει, καθάπερ τῶν ζώων, καὶ τῶν 
al lal δ \ nw 
φυτῶν" οὐ μόνον ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσι καὶ ταῖς λίμναις 
\ a a \ > \ \ » a / 
Kal τοῖς ποταμοῖς yap ἀλλὰ Kal ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ 
/ ἈΠ ΔΕ / »Μ ” OO) \ / 
φύεται καὶ ὑλήματα ἔνια ἔν TE TH ἔξω καὶ δένδρα" 
a \ a \ Ν , 
ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῇ περὶ ἡμᾶς μικρὰ πάντα τὰ φυόμενα, 
καὶ οὐδὲν ὑπερέχον ὡς εἰπεῖν τῆς θαλάττης" ἐν 
\ A \ 
ἐκείνῃ δὲ καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα Kal ὑπερέχοντα, Kal 
oe δὲ / δέ ὃ 
ἕτερα δὲ μείζω δένδρα. 
\ \ Le Apia Se > / , 
Ta μὲν οὖν περὶ ἡμᾶς ἐστι τάδε' φανερώτατα 
, la) / n 
μὲν καὶ κοινότατα πᾶσιν τὸ τε φῦκος Kal τὸ 
fj Ν ὦ ΝΜ r , \ \ 
βρύον καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τοιαῦτα' φανερώτατα δὲ καὶ 





1 φιλοτιμηθεῖσαι conj. St.; φιλοτιμηθεὶς MSS.; Plin. 12. 7. 
2 βαλάττης conj. Seal. from G ; ἐλάτης Ald.H. 


328 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. v. 6-v1. 2 


produce this tree. At any rate those which King 
Dionysius the Elder planted at Rhegium in the park, 
and which are now in the grounds of the wrestling 
school and are thought much of,! have not been able 
to attain any size. 

Some of these regions however have the plane 
in abundance, and others the elm and willow, others 
the tamarisk, such as the district of Mount Haemus. 
Wherefore such trees we must, as was said, take to 
be peculiar to their districts, whether they are wild 
or cultivated. However it might well be that the 
country should be able to produce some of these 
trees, if they were carefully cultivated: this we do 
in fact find to be the case with some plants, as with 
some animals. 


Of the aquatic plants of the Mediterranean. 


VI. However the greatest difference in the natural 
character itself of trees and of tree-like plants gener- 
ally we must take to be that mentioned already, 
namely, that of plants, as of animals, some belong 
to the earth, some to water. Not only in swamps, 
lakes and rivers, but even in the sea there are some 
tree-like growths, and in the ocean there are even 
trees. In our own sea all the things that grow are 
small, and hardly any of them rise above the sur- 
face2; but in the ocean we find the same kinds 
rising above the surface, and also other larger 
trees. 

Those found in our own waters are as follows: 
most conspicuous of those which are of general 
occurrence are seaweed 5 oyster-green and the like ; 
most obvious of those peculiar to certain parts are the 


5 Phin. 13. 135. 
329 


THEOPHRASTUS 


> , x \ 4 
ἰδιώτατα κατὰ TOUS τόπους ἐλάτη συκῆ δρῦς 
ἄμπελος φοῖνιξ. τούτων δὲ τὰ μὲν πρόσγεια 
τὰ δὲ πόντια τὰ δ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν τόπων κοινά. 
\ \ \ a ΄ \ a \ \ 
Kal τὰ μὲν πολυειδῆ, καθάπερ TO φῦκος, τὰ δὲ 
/ a \ ͵ 
μίαν ἰδέαν ἔχοντα. τοῦ γὰρ φύκους τὸ μέν. ἐστι 
πλατύφυλλον TALVLOELOES χρῶμα ποῶδες ἔχον, 
ὃ δὴ καὶ πράσον καλοῦσί τινες, οἱ δὲ ζωστῆρα: 
ῥίζαν δὲ ἔχει δασεῖαν ἔξωθεν ἔνδοθεν δὲ λεπυριώδη, 
\ a n a 
sai δὲ ἐπιεικῶς Kal εὐπαχῆ παρομοίαν τοῖς 
κρομνυογητείοις. 
Ν ᾿ 
Τὸ δὲ τριχύόφυλλον, ὥσπερ τὸ μάραθον, οὐ 
a > ” \ »Μ \ 
ποῶδες adr’ ἔξωχρον οὐδὲ ἔχον καυλὸν ἀλλ᾽ 
» / c a / n rn 
ὀρθὸν πως ἐν αὑτῷ: φύεται δὲ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τῶν 
> lal / “ / 
ὀστράκων Kal τῶν λίθων, οὐχ ὥσπερ θάτερον 
Ν fal a / \ 
πρὸς τῇ γῇ πρόσγεια δ᾽ ἄμφω, καὶ τὸ μὲν 
\ > an fel lal / No 
τριχύφυλλον πρὸς AUTH TH γῆ, πολλάκις δὲ ὥσπερ 
/ \ “, / 
ἐπικλύζεται μόνον ὑπὸ τῆς θαλάττης, θάτερον δὲ 
ἀνωτέρω. 
, a lal ς 
Γίνεται δὲ ἐν μὲν τῇ ἔξω τῇ περὶ Ἡρακλέους 
\ / “ 
στήλας θαυμαστόν τι τὸ μέγεθος, ὥς φασι, καὶ τὸ 
πλάτος “μεῖζον ὡς παλαιστιαῖον. φέρεται δὲ 
τοῦτο εἰς τὴν ἔσω θάλατταν ἅμα τῷ ῥῷ τῷ 
ἔξωθεν καὶ καλοῦσιν αὐτὸ πράσον' ἐν ταύτῃ δ᾽ 
ἔν τίσι τόποις ὥστ᾽ ἐπάνω τοῦ ὀμφαλοῦ. λέγεται 
N / a 
δὲ ἐπέτειον εἶναι καὶ φύεσθαι μὲν τοῦ ἦρος 
λήγοντος, ἀκμάζειν δὲ τοῦ θέρους, τοῦ μετοπώρου 
Ν , \ \ Ν “Ὁ > / \ 
δὲ φθίνειν, κατὰ δὲ τὸν χειμῶνα ἀπόλλυσθαι Kal 
> ’ “ \ \ 9 Ἂν / 
ἐκπίπτειν. ἅπαντα δὲ καὶ TaAAA τὰ φυόμενα 
/ / / lal a 
χείρω Kal ἀμαυρότερα γίνεσθαι τοῦ χειμῶνος. 
1 See Index : συκῆ, δρῦς, ete. 
2 ταινιοειδὲς conj. Dalec. ; τετανοειδὲς UP,Ald.H.; τὰ τενο- 


εἰδὲς MY. 3 cf. Diose. 4. 99; Plin. 136. 
339 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vi. 2-4 


sea-plants called ‘fir’ ‘fig’ ‘oak’ ‘vine’ ‘palm.’! 
Of these some are found close to land, others 
in the deep sea, others equally in both positions. 
And some have many forms, as seaweed, some but 
one. Thus of seaweed there is the broad-leaved 
kind, riband-like? and green in colour, which some 
call ‘green-weed’ and others “ girdle-weed.’ This 
has a root which on the outside is shaggy, but the 
inner part is made of several coats, and it is fairly 
long and stout, like kromyogeteton (a kind of onion). 

3 Another kind has hair-like leaves like fennel, 
and is not green but pale yellow; nor has it a stalk, 
but it is, as it were, erect in itself; this grows on 
oyster-shells and stones, not, like the other, attached 
to the bottom; but both are plants of the shore, 
and the hair-leaved kind grows close to land, and 
sometimes is merely washed over by the sea*; while 
the other is found further out. 

Again in the ocean about the pillars of Heracles 
there is a kind® of marvellous size, they say, which 
is larger, about a palmsbreadth.6 This is carried into 
the inner sea along with the current from the outer 
sea, and they call it ‘sea-leek’ (riband-weed) ; 
and in this sea in some parts it grows higher than 
a man’s waist. It is said to be annual and to come 
up at the end of spring, and to be at its best in 
summer, and to wither in autumn, while in winter it 
perishes and is thrown up on shore. Also, they say, 
all the other plants of the sea become weaker and 
feebler in winter. These then are, one may say, the 


4 7.e. grows above low water mark. 
5 See Index : φῦκος (2). 
6 7.e. the ‘leaf’: the comparison is doubtless with τὸ 


πλατὺ, §2; ὡς UMVAId.; ἢ W. after Sch.’s conj. 
33! 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ταῦτα μὲν οὖν οἷον πρόσγεια περί γε τὴν 
θάλατταν. τὸ δὲ πόντιον φῦκος ὃ οἱ σπογγιεῖς 
ἀνακολυμβῶσι πελάγιον. 

Καὶ ἐν Κρήτῃ δὲ φύεται πρὸς τῇ γῇ ἐπὶ τῶν 
πετρῶν πλεῖστον καὶ κάλλιστον ᾧ βάπτουσιν οὐ 
μόνον τὰς ταινίας ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔρια καὶ ἱμάτια": καὶ 
ἕως ἂν 7 πρόσφατος ἡ βαφή, πολὺ καλλίων ἡ 
χρόα τῆς πορφύρας" γίνεται δ᾽ ἐν τῇ προσβόρρῳ 
καὶ πλεῖον καὶ κάλλιον, ὥσπερ αἱ σπογγιαὶ καὶ 
ἄλλα τοιαῦτα. 

"AdXo δ᾽ ἐστὶν ὅμοιον τῇ ἀγρώστει: καὶ γὰρ τὸ 

μοιον τῇ ἀγρ γὰρ 
φύλλον παραπλήσιον ἔχει καὶ τὴν ῥίζαν γονα- 
τώδη καὶ μακρὰν καὶ πεφυκυῖαν πλαγίαν, ὥσπερ 
ἡ τῆς ἀγρώστιδος" ἔχει δὲ καὶ καυλὸν καλαμώδη, 
καθάπερ ἡ ἄγρωστις" μεγέθει δὲ ἔλαττον πολὺ 
τοῦ φύκους. 

"Addo δὲ τὸ βρύον, ὃ φύλλον μὲν ἔχει ποῶδες 
τῇ χρόᾳ, πλατὺ δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἀνόμοιον. ταῖς θριδα- 
κίναις, πλὴν ῥυτιδωδέστερον καὶ ὥσπερ συν- 
εσπασμένον. καυλὸν δὲ οὐκ ἔχει, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ μιᾶς 
ἀρχῆς πλείω τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ πάλιν ἀπ᾽ ἄλλης: 
φύεται δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν λίθων τὰ τοιαῦτα πρὸς τῇ γῇ 
καὶ τῶν ὀστράκων. καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐλάττω σχεδὸν 

ΜΠ, | 
ταῦτ᾽ ἐστίν. 

Ἢ δὲ δρῦς καὶ ἡ ἐλάτη παράγειοι μὲν ἄμφω" 
φύονται δ᾽ ἐπὶ λίθοις καὶ ὀστράκοις ῥίξας μὲν οὐκ 
ἔχουσαι, προσπεφυκυῖαι δὲ ὥσπερ αἱ λεπάδες. 
ἀμφότεραι μὲν οἷον σαρκόφυλλα' προμηκέστερον 
δὲ τὸ φύλλον πολὺ καὶ παχύτερον τῆς ἐλάτης 





1 Plin. 13. 136, cf. 32. 22; Diosc. 4. 99. 
2 litmus; see Index, φῦκος (δ). 
% Plin. Lc. ; grass-wrack, see Index, φῦκος (6). 


395 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. νι. 4-7 


sea-plants which are found near the shore. But the 
‘seaweed of ocean, which is dived for by the 
sponge-fishers, belongs to the open sea. 

1In Crete there is an abundant and luxuriant 
growth? on the rocks close to land, with which they 
dye not only their ribbons, but also wool and 
clothes. And, as long as the dye is fresh, the 
colour is far more beautiful than the purple dye ; 
it occurs on the north coast in greater abundance 
and fairer, as do the sponges and other such things. 

3There is another kind like dog’s-tooth grass ; 
the leaf is very like, the root is jointed and long, 
and grows out sideways, like that of that plant; it 
has also a reedy stalk like the same plant, and in 
size itis much smaller than ordinary seaweed. 

4 Another kind is the oyster-green, which has a 
leaf green in colour, but broad and not unlike 
lettuce leaves; but it is more wrinkled ® and as it 
were crumpled. It has no stalk, but from a single 
starting-point grow many of the kind, and again 
from another starting-point. These things grow on 
stones close to land and on oyster-shells. These 
are about all the smaller kinds. 

6 The ‘sea-oak’ and ‘sea-fir’ both belong to the 
shore ; they grow on stones and oyster-shells, having 
no roots, but being attached to them like limpets.’ 
Both have more or less fleshy leaves; but the leaf 
of the ‘fir’ grows much longer and stouter, and is 8 


4 Plin. 13. 137; 27. 56; βρύον conj. Scal. from G and Plin. 
l.c.; βότρυον UAld.H. 

5 ῥυτιδωδέστερον conj. Scal. from G and Plin. l.c.3 χρυσιωδέ- 
στερον Ald.; ῥυσιωδέστερον mBas. 

S* Phin: 7:0: 7 rewddes Ald.; λοπάδες W. with UMV. 

8 προμηκέστερον .. . πέφυκε καὶ con]. W.; προμ. δὲ τὸ φύλλον 
παχὺ καὶ παχύτερον τῆς ἐλάτης: πολὺ δὲ καὶ Ald, 


333 


@ 


THEOPHRASTUS 


πέφυκε καὶ οὐκ ἀνόμοιον τοῖς τῶν ὀσπρίων λοβοῖς, 
κοῖλον δ᾽ ἔνδοθεν καὶ οὐδὲν ἔχον ἐν αὐτοῖς" τὸ δὲ 
τῆς δρυὸς λεπτὸν καὶ μυρικωδέστερον' χρῶμα δ᾽ 
ἐπιπόρφυρον ἀμφοῖν. ἡ δὲ ὅλη μορφὴ τῆς μὲν 
ἐλάτης ὀρθὴ καὶ αὐτῆς καὶ τῶν ἀκρεμόνων, τῆς δὲ 
δρυὸς σκολιωτέρα καὶ μᾶλλον ἔχουσα πλάτος" 
γίνεται δὲ ἄμφω καὶ πολύκαυλα καὶ <povoKavAa,> 
μονοκαυλότερον. δὲ ἡ ἐλάτη" τὰς δὲ ἀκρεμονικὰς 
ἀποφύσεις ἡ μὲν ἐλάτη μακρὰς ἔχει καὶ εὐθείας 
καὶ μανάς, ἡ δὲ δρῦς Bpaxutepas Kal σκολιωτέρας 
καὶ πυκνοτέρας. τὸ δ᾽ ὅλον μέγεθος ἀμφοτέρων 
ὡς πυγωνιαῖον ἢ μικρὸν ὑπεραῖρον, μεῖζον δὲ ὡς 
ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν τὸ THS ἐλάτης. χρήσιμον δὲ ἡ 2 δρῦς 
εἰς βαφὴν ἐρίων ταῖς γυναιξίν. ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν 
ἀκρεμόνων προσηρτημένα τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων 
ζώων ἔνια: καὶ κάτω δὲ πρὸς αὐτῷ τῷ καυλῴ 
περιπεφυκότων τινῶν Υ ᾿ὅχῳ, ἐν τούτοις δεδυκότες 
ὀνίννοι τε καὶ ἄλλ᾽ ἄττα καὶ τὸ ὅμοιον πολύποδι. 

'αῦτα μὲν οὖν ᾿ πρόσγεια καὶ ῥάδια θεωρηθῆναι" 
φασὶ δέ τίνες καὶ ἄλλην δρῦν εἶναι ποντίαν ἣ καὶ 
καρπὸν φέρει, καὶ ἡ βάλανος αὐτῆς χρησίμη: 
τοὺς δὲ σκινθοὺς καὶ κολυμβητὰς λέγειν ὅτι καὶ 
ἕτεραι μεγάλαι τινὲς τοῖς μεγέθεσιν εἴησαν. 

Ἣ δὲ ἄμπελος ἀμφοτέρωσε γίνεται: καὶ γὰρ 
πρὸς τῇ γῇ καὶ ποντία' μείζω δ᾽ ἔχει καὶ τὰ 
φύλλα καὶ τὰ κλήματα καὶ τὸν καρπὸν ἡ 
ποντία. 

Ἢ δὲ συκῆ ἄφυλλος μὲν τῷ δὲ μεγέθει οὐ 
μεγάλη, χρῶμα δὲ τοῦ φλοιοῦ φοινικοῦν. 





1 αὐτοῖς Ald.H.; αὑτῷ conj. W. 
21 have inserted μονόκανλα. 


334 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. νι. 7—9 


not unlike the pods of pulses, but is hollow inside 
and contains nothing in the ‘pods.’! ‘That of the 
‘oak’ is slender and more like the tamarisk ; the 
colour of both is purplish. The whole shape of the 
‘fir’ is erect, both as to the stem and the branches, 
but that of the ‘oak’ is less straight and the plant is 
broader. Poth are found both with many stems and 
with one,” but the ‘fir’ is more apt to have a single 
stem. The branchlike outgrowths in the ‘fir’ are 
long straight and spreading, while in the ‘ oak’ they 
are shorter less straight and closer. The whole size 
of either is about a cubit or rather more, but in 
general that of the ‘fir’ is the longer. The ‘ oak’ 
is useful to women for dyeing wool. To the branches 
are attached certain creatures with shells, and below 
they are also found attached to the stem itself, which 
in some cases they completely cover ;3 and among 
these are found millepedes and other such creatures, 
including the one which resembles a cuttlefish. 

These plants occur close to land and are easy to 
observe ; but some report 4 that there is another ‘sea 
oak’ which even bears fruit and has a useful ‘acorn,’ 
and that the sponge fishers® and divers told them 
that there were other large kinds. 

6 The ‘sea-vine’ grows under both conditions, both 
close to land and in the deep sea; but the deep sea 
form has larger leaves branches and fruit. 

7 The ‘sea-fig’ is leafless and not of large size, and 
the colour of the bark is red. 

3 τινῶν γ᾽ ὅλῳ conj. W.; τινῶν ὅλων Ald.; τινῶν ye ὅλων U; 
text uncertain: the next clause has no connecting particle. 

* Phas 13) 197: 

5 σκίνθους, a vox nihili: perhaps conceals a proper name, 


€.g. Σικελικοὺς ; σπογγεῖς conj. St. 
ὁ Phins.43.. 198, 5 Pim le 


335 


10 


THEOPHRASTUS 


¢ ἂν 2 \ , , 
Ο δὲ φοῖνίξ ἐστι ιν πόντιον βραχυστέλεχες 
\ / \ a ’ Lal € » fa lal 
δὲ σφόδρα, καὶ σχεδὸν εὐθεῖαι αἱ ἐκφύσεις τῶν 
Ce \ / 3 / a if 
ῥάβδων: καὶ κάτωθεν ov κύκλῳ αὗται, καθάπερ 
fal es dee / ’ ᾽ e \ > £ 
τῶν ῥάβδων αἱ ἀκρεμόνες, ἀλλ᾽ ὡσὰν ἐν πλάτει 
, a ’ a \ \ > 
κατὰ μίαν συνεχεῖς, ὀλιγαχοῦ δὲ Kal ἀπαλ- 
΄ n \ Ce A lal > / 
λάττουσαι. τῶν δὲ ῥάβδων ἢ τῶν ἀποφύσεων 
e 3 / \ ς 4 al val 
τούτων ὁμοία τρόπον τινὰ ἡ φύσις τοῖς τῶν 
> lal / “ Ψ ἴω e / 
ἀκανθῶν φύλλοις τῶν ἀκανικῶν, οἷον σόγκοις 
a / \ 5 \ «“ 
καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις, πλὴν ὀρθαὶ καὶ οὐχ, ὥσπερ 
an \ \ / / 
ἐκεῖνα, περικεκλασμεναι Kal TO φύλλον ἔχουσαι 
, ς \ an “ > \ ‘ > 
διαβεβρωμένον ὑπὸ τῆς ἅλμης: ἐπεὶ TO γε δι 
“ a \ , Ν Nicc1@7 oo v 
ὅλου ἥκειν TOV μέσον γε καυλὸν καὶ ἡ ἄλλη ὄψις 
/ A Ἁ a \ / “ 
παραπλησία. τὸ δὲ χρῶμα καὶ τούτων καὶ τῶν 
a rn “ / / / 
καυλῶν Kal ὅλου τοῦ φυτοῦ ἐξέρυθρόν τε σφόδρα 
καὶ φοινικοῦν. 
Καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐν τῇδε τῇ θαλάττῃ τοσαῦτά ἐστιν. 
\ 5 « ΄ 
ἡ γὰρ σπογγιὰ καὶ αἱ ἀπλυσίαι καλούμεναι καὶ 
fal / , 
εἴ τι τοιοῦτον ἑτέραν ἔχει φύσιν. 
n a © / 
VII. Εν δὲ τῇ ἔξω τῇ περὶ “Hpakdéovs στήλας 
/ “ ” ΄ 
TO τε πράσον, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, φύεται καὶ τὰ 
> ΄ n Ὁ ~ \ \ a 
ἀπολιθούμενα ταῦτα, οἷον θῦμα καὶ τὰ δαφνοειδῆ 
\ yy, a \ > nm / ᾽ a 
Kal Ta ἄλλα. τῆς δὲ ἐρυθρᾶς καλουμένης ἐν TH 
᾽ ΄ \ 2) /, / 2 \ a a 
ApaBia μικρὸν ἐπάνω Κόπτου ἐν μὲν τῇ γῇ 





1 κάτωθεν. ., ἀπαλλάττουσαι probably beyond certain re- 
storation: I have added καὶ before κάτωθεν (from G), altered 
κυκλωθὲν to κύκλῳ, put a stop before καὶ κάτωθεν, and restored 
ἀπαλλάττουσαι (Ald.H.). Δ cf. 0: 4. Ss Geis. oe 

3 περικεκλασμένα, 1.6. towards the ground. cf. Diosc. 3. 
68 and 69, where Plin. (27. 13) renders (φύλλα) ὑποπερικλᾶται 
ad terram infracta, 


336 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. νι. r0o—-vu. 1 


The ‘sea-palm’ is a deep-sea plant, but with a 
very short stem, and the branches which spring from 
it are almost straight; and these under water are 
not set all round the stem, like the twigs which grow 
from the branches, but extend, as it were, quite 
flat in one direction, and are uniform; though 
occasionally they are irregular. The character of 
these branches or outgrowths to some extent re- 
sembles the leaves of thistle-like spinous plants, 
such as the sow-thistles? and the like, except that 
they are straight and not bent over? like these, 
and have their leaves eaten away by the brine; in 
the fact that the central stalk 4 at least runs through 
the whole, they resemble these, and so does the 
general appearance. The colour both of the branches 
and of the stalks and of the plant as a whole is a 
deep red or scarlet. 

Such are the plants found in this sea. For sponges 
and what are called aplysiat® and such-like growths 
are of a different character. 


OF the aquatic plants of the ‘outer sea’ (i.e. Atlantic, Persian 
Gulf, etc.). 


VII. In the outer sea near the pillars of Heracles 
grows the ‘sea-leek, as has been said®; also the 
well known? plants which turn to stone, as thyma, 
the plants like the bay and others. And in the 
sea called the Red Sea® a little above Coptos® 


4 3,6. midrib. 

5 Some kind of sponge. ἀπλυσίαι conj. R. Const.; πλύσιαι 
UAld.; πλυσίαι M ; πλουσίαι V. 6 4 6. 4. 

1 ταῦτα: ὉΠ Ids 90 1851]: 

8. Plin. 13. 139. 

9 Κόπτου conj. Scal.; κόπον MV; κόλπου UAld.; Capto G 
and Plin. l.c. 


337 





to 


LITEOPPR AS. US 


΄ ᾽ \ / \ rn ’ ~ 
δένδρον οὐδὲν φύεται πλὴν τῆς ἀκάνθης τῆς 
CAN / / \ \ er \ x 
διψάδος καλουμέν))ς" σπανία δὲ καὶ αὐτὴ διὰ Ta 
καύματα καὶ τὴν ἀνυδρίαν" οὐχ ὕει γὰρ ἀλλ᾽ 
δι᾿ ἐτῶν τεττίρων ἢ πέντε καὶ τότε λάβρως καὶ 
ἐπ᾽ ὀλίγον χρόνον". 
diy x “ / A a \ 
» δὲ τῇ θαλάττῃ φύεται, καλοῦσι δ᾽ αὐτὰ 
Cc 7 \' 2 i “» (ὧν e Ni hs ΄ ¢ / 
oui καὶ ἐλααν. ἐστι CE ἡ μὲν ὀαφνὴ ομοία 
τῇ ἀρίᾳ ἢ δὲ ἐλάα <TH ELUA> τῷ φύλλῳ: καρπον 
ε EXE! ᾿ ἐλάα παραπλήσιον ταῖς ἐλάαις" ἀφίησι 
δὲ καὶ δάκρυον, ἐξ οὗ οἱ ἰατροὶ φάρμακον ἔναιμον 
= 74 «Ὁ Τ 10 ’ θό of δὲ 
συντιθεασιν ὃ γίνεται σφὸ pa ἀγαθον. ὅταν oe 
ὕδατα πλείω γένηται, μύκητες φύονται πρὸς τῇ 
θαλάττῃ κατά τινα τόποι', οὗτοι δὲ ἀπολιθοῦνται 
ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου. ἡ δὲ θάλαττα θηριώδης" πλεί- 
\ vv 3 / ef \ 3 
στους δὲ ἔχει τοὺς καρχαρίας, ὥστε μὴ εἶναι 
κολυμβῆσαι. 
᾿ \ ω Ὗ la ΄ «. , « 
Ky δὲ τῷ κόλπῳ τῷ καλουμένῳ ‘Hpwor, ἐφ᾽ ὃν 
,ὔ ‘ cas ee s ἐφ᾿ \ , 
καταβαίνουσιν οἱ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, φύεται μὲν δάφνη 
Ν > / \ aes ᾽ \ ta ’ \ 
τε Kal ἐλάα Kal θυμον, ov μὴν χλωρὰ γε UAXrAa 
a \ Ὁ V4 an er \ 
λιθοειδῆ τὰ ὑπερέχοντα τῆς θαλάττης, ὅμοια δὲ 
\ a ΄ v a a a a 
καὶ τοῖς φύλλοις καὶ τοῖς βλαστοῖς τοῖς χλωροῖς. 
’ \ fal / \ \ “ , col Ὁ 
ἐν δὲ τῷ θύμῳ καὶ τὸ τοῦ ἄνθους χρῶμα διάδηλοι" 
Φ \ ΄, ta ΄, “- 
ὡσὰν μήπω τελέως ἐξηνθηκός. μήκη δὲ τῶν 
,ὕ “ > - 
δενδρυφίων ὅσοι εἰς τρεῖς ἀρ 
- oe ν᾽ γ᾽ > a 
Οἱ δέ, ὅτε ἀνάπλους ἣν τῶν Ἐξ ᾿Ινδῶν ἀποστα- 
{ \ x ΄ 
λέντων ὑπὸ Αλεξάνδρου, τὰ ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ 
φυύμενα, μέχρι οὗ μὲν ἂν ὃ ἐν τῷ ὑγρῷ, χρῶμά 
᾽ ᾽ 
φασιν ἔχειν ὅμοιον τοῖς φυκίοις, ὁπύταν δ᾽ ἐξ- 


Mcf. Strabo 10. 1.1.7: 2 See Index. 

3 The name of a tree seems to have dropped out: I have 
inserted τῇ ἐλάᾳ: cf. ταῖς ἐλάαις below. LBretzl sugrests ἰδέᾳ 
for aula, 


330 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vu. 1-3 


in Arabia there grows on the land no tree except 
that called the ‘thirsty’ acacia, and even this is 
scarce by reason of the heat and the lack of water ; 
for it never rains except at intervals of four or five 
years, and then the rain comes down heavily and is 
soon over. 

1But there are plants in the sea, which they call 
‘bay’ and ‘olive’ (white mangrove’). In foliage 
the ‘bay’ is like the arta (holm-oak), the ‘olive’ 
like the real olive.? The latter has a fruit like olives, 
and it also discharges a gum,‘ from which the 
physicians # compound a drug® for stanching blood, 
which is extremely effective. And when there is 
more rain than usual, mushrooms grow in a certain 
place close to the sea, which are turned to stone by 
the sun. The sea is full of beasts, and produces 
sharks® in great numbers, so that diving is 
impossible. 

In the gulf called ‘the Gulf of the Heroes,’? 
to which the Egyptians go down, there grow a ‘ bay,’ 
an ‘olive, and a ‘thyme’; these however are not 
green, but like stones so far as they project above 
the sea, but in leaves and shoots they are like their 
green namesakes. In the ‘ thyme’ the colour of the 
flower is also conspicuous, looking as though the 
flower had not yet completely developed. These 
treelike growths are about three cubits in height. 

8 Now some, referring to the occasion when there 
was an expedition of those returning from India sent 
out by Alexander, report that the plants which grow in 
the sea, so long as they are kept damp, have a colour 


4 cf. Diose. 1. 105 and 106. 
eof. Athen4. Say ἘΠ ΠῚ 1: 77: 
© Plin 13. 139: 7 of. 9. 4. 4. 5] 15.140: 


339 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ενεχθέντα τεθῇ “πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον, ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ 
ἐξομοιοῦσθαι. τῷ ἁλί. φύεσθαι δὲ καὶ σχοίνους 
λιθίνους παρ᾽ αὐτὴν τὴν θάλατταν, ods οὐδεὶς ἂν 
διαγνοίη τῇ ὄψει πρὸς τοὺς ἀληθινούς. θαυμα- 
σιώτερον δέ TL TOUTOU λέγουσι" φύεσθαι γὰρ 
δενδρύφι᾽ ἄττα τὸ μὲν χρῶμα ἔχοντα ὅμοιον 
κέρατι βοὸς τοῖς δὲ ὄζοις τραχέα. καὶ ἀπ᾽ ἄκρου 
πυρρά' ταῦτα δὲ θραύεσθαι μὲν εἰ συγκλῴη τις" 
ἐκ δὲ τούτων πυρὶ ἐμβαλλόμενα, καθάπερ τὸν 
σίδηρον, διάπυρα γινόμενα πάλιν ὅταν ἀποψύ- 
χοιτο καθίστασθαι καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν χρόαν λαμ- 
βάνειν. 

Ἔν δὲ ταῖς νήσοις ταῖς ὑπὸ τῆς πλημμυρίδος 
καταλαμβανομέναις δένδρα μεγάλα πεφυκέναι 
ἡλίκαι πλάτανοι καὶ αἴγειροι αἱ μέγισται: συμ- 
βαίνειν δέ, ὅθ᾽ ἡ πλημμυρὶς ἐπέλθοι, τὰ μὲν ἄλλα 
κατακρύπτεσθαι ὅλα, τῶν δὲ μεγίστων ὑπερέχειν 
τοὺς κλάδους, ἐξ ὧν τὰ πρυμνησία ἀνάπτειν, εἶθ᾽ 
ὅτε πάλιν ἄμπωτις γίνοιτο ἐκ τῶν ῥιζῶν. ἔχειν 
δὲ τὸ δένδρον φύλλον μὲν ὅμοιον τῇ δάφνῃ, ἄνθος 
δὲ τοῖς ἴοις καὶ TO χρώματι καὶ τῇ ὀσμῇ, καρπὸν 
δὲ ἡλίκον ἐλάα καὶ τοῦτον εὐώδη σφόδρα: καὶ τὰ 
μὲν φύλλα οὐκ ἀποβάλλειν, τὸ δὲ ἄνθος καὶ τὸν 
καρπὸν ἅμα τῷ φθινοπώρῳ γίνεσθαι, τοῦ δὲ ἔαρος 
ἀπορρεῖν. 

Ἄλλα δ᾽ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ θαλάττῃ πεφυκέναι, ἀεί- 
φυλλα μὲν τὸν δὲ καρπὸν ὅμοιον ἔχειν τοῖς 
θέρμοις. 

Περὶ δὲ τὴν Περσίδα τὴν κατὰ τὴν Καρμανίαν, 
καθ᾽ ὃ ἡ πλημμυρὶς γίνεται, δένδρα ἐ ἐστὶν εὐμεγέθη 
ὅμοια τῇ ἀνδράχλῃ καὶ τῇ μορφῇ καὶ τοῖς φύλλοις" 
καρπὸν δὲ ἔχει πολὺν ὅμοιον τῷ χρώματι ταῖς 


340 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vu. 3-5 


like sea-weeds, but that when they are taken out and 
put in the sun, they shortly become like salt. They 
also say that rushes of stone grow close to the sea, 
which none could distinguish at sight from real 
rushes. They also report a more marvellous thing 
than this ; they say that there are certain tree-like 
growths which in colour resemble an ox-horn, but 
whose branches are rough, and red at the tip ; these 
break if they are doubled up, and some of then, if 
they are cast on a fire, become red-hot like iron, 
but recover when they cool and assume their original 
colour. 

1 On the islands which get covered by the tide they 
say that great trees? grow, as big as planes or the 
tallest poplars, and that it came to pass that, when 
the tide? came up, while the other things were 
entirely buried, the branches of the biggest trees 
projected and they fastened the stern cables to them, 
and then, when the tide ebbed again, fastened them 
to the roots. And that the tree has a leaf like that 
of the bay, and a flower like gilliflowers in colour and 
smell, and a fruit the size of that of the olive, which 
is also very fragrant. And that it does not shed its 
leaves, and that the flower and the fruit form to- 
gether in autumn and are shed in spring. 

4 Also they say there are plants which actually 
grow in the sea, which are evergreen and havea fruit 
like lupins. 

°In Persia in the Carmanian district, where the tide 
is felt, there are trees® of fair size like the andrachne 
in shape and in leaves; and they bear much fruit like 

1 Plin, 18. 141. 
2 Mangroves. See Index App. (12). 
5. cf. Arr. Anab. 6. 22. 6. 


4"Plin, te. Index App: (13). eS Plines 12.031. 
6 White mangroves. Index App. (14). 341 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἀμυγδάλαις ἔξωθεν, τὸ δ᾽ ἐντὸς συνελίιττεται 
καθάπερ συνηρτημένον πᾶσιν. ὑποβέβρωται δὲ 
\ 
ταῦτα τὰ δένδρα πάντα κατὰ μέσον ὑπὸ τῆς 
θαλάττης καὶ ἕστηκεν ὑπὸ τῶν ῥιζῶν, ὥσπερ 
πολύπους. ὅταν γὰρ ἡ ἄμπωτις γένηται θεωρεῖν 
ο « “ / 
ἐστιν. ὕδωρ δὲ ὅλως οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν TO τόπῳ" KATA- 
5 τὸ ἂν , 
λείπονται δέ τινες διώρυχες Su ὧν διαπλέουσιν' 
Φ ᾽ τ / e \ A ” / 
αὗται δ᾽ εἰσὶ θαλάττης" ᾧ Kal δῆλον οἴονταί τινες 
« / n Ὁ 
ὅτι τρέφονται ταύτῃ Kal οὐ τῷ ὕδατι, πλὴν εἴ τι 
ταῖς ῥίζαις ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἕλκουσιν. εὔλογον δὲ καὶ 
ay ¢ \ = \ \ +>Q\ \ / 
τοῦθ᾽ ἁλμυρὸν εἶναι" Kal yap οὐδὲ κατὰ βάθους 
x ¢ « / an τὶ 
αἱ ῥίζαι. τὸ δὲ ὅλον ἕν τὸ γένος εἶναι τῶν T ἐν 
a a a A \ a 
τῇ θαλάττῃ φυομένων καὶ τῶν ἐν TH YH ὑπὸ τῆς 
/ \ 
πλημμυρίδος καταλαμβανομένων: καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐν 
ἂν \ , , \ , 
τῇ θαλάττῃ μικρὰ καὶ φυκώδη φαινόμενα, τὰ ὃ 
ἐν τῇ γῆ μεγάλα καὶ χλωρὰ καὶ ἄνθος εὔοδμον 
ἔχοντα, καρπὸν δὲ οἷον θέρμος. 

Ἔν Τύλῳ δὲ τῇ νήσῳ, κεῖται δ᾽ αὕτη ἐν τῷ 
᾿Αραβίῳ κόλπῳ, τὰ μὲν πρὸς ἕω τοσοῦτο πλῆθος 
“ / / CFF ᾽ ’ «ς \ 
εἶναί φασι δένδρων ὅτ᾽ ἐκβαίνει ἡ πλημμυρὶς 
ὥστ᾽ ἀπωχυρῶσθαι. πάντα δὲ ταῦτα μεγέθη μὲν 
», € / a \ \ » ς / a 
ἔχειν ἡλίκα συκῆ, TO δὲ ἄνθος ὑπερβάλλον τῇ 
εὐωδίᾳ, καρπὸν δὲ ἄβρωτον ὅμοιον τῇ ὄψει τῷ 
θέρμῳ. φέρειν δὲ τὴν νῆσον καὶ τὰ δένδρα τὰ 
ἐριοφόρα πολλά. ταῦτα δὲ φύλλον μὲν ἔχειν 
παρόμοιον τῇ ἀμπέλῳ πλὴν “μικρόν, καρπὸν δὲ 
οὐδένα φέρειν: ἐν ᾧ δὲ τὸ ἔριον. ἡλίκον μῆλον 

’ 
ἐαρινὸν συμμεμυκός: ὅταν δὲ ὡραῖον ἦ, ἐκπετάν- 


1 Plin. dc. Sicco litore radicibus nudis polyporum modo 
complexae steriles arenas aspectantur: he appears to have 
had a fuller text. 


342 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vi. 5-7 


in colour to almonds on the outside, but the inside 
is coiled up as though the kernels were all united. 
1 These trees are all eaten away up to the middle by 
the sea and are held up by their roots, so that they 
look like a cuttle-fish. For one may see this at 
ebb-tide. And there is no rain at all in the district, 
but certain channels are left, along which they sail, 
and which are part of the sea. Which, some think, 
makes it plain that the trees derive nourishment from 
the sea and not from fresh water, except what they 
draw up with their roots from the land. And it is 
reasonable to suppose that this too is brackish; for 
the roots do not run to any depth. In general they 
say that the trees which grow in the sea and those 
which grow on the land and are overtaken by the 
tide are of the same kind, and that those which grow 
in the sea are small and look like seaweed, while 
those that grow? on land are large and green and 
have a fragrant flower and a fruit like a lupin. 

In the island of Tylos,? which is situated in the 
Arabian gulf,t they say that on the east side there is 
such a number of trees when the tide goes out that 
they make a regular fence. All these are in size 
as large as a fig-tree, the flower is exceedingly 
fragrant, and the fruit, which is not edible, is like in 
appearance to the lupin. They say that the island 
also produces the ‘ wool-bearing’ tree (cotton-plant) 
in abundance. This has a leaf like that of the vine, 
but small, and bears no fruit ; but the vessel in which 
the ‘ wool ’ is contained is as large as a spring apple, 


2 φυκώδη φαινόμενα τὰ δ᾽ ἐν conj. W.; dur. ou. δ᾽ ἐν MVAId.; 
U has φερόμενα (). 

3 cf. 5. 4. 6 ; Plin. 12. 38 and 39 ; modern name Bahrein. 

452,6. Persian Gulf. 


343 


THEOPHRASTUS 


νυσθαι καὶ ἐξείρειν τὸ ἔριον, ἐξ οὗ τὰς σινδόνας 
ὑφαίνουσι, τὰς μὲν εὐτελεῖς τὰς δὲ πολυτελε- 
στάτας. 

Γίνεται δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν ᾿Ινδοῖς, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, 
καὶ ἐν ᾿Αραβίᾳ. εἶναι δὲ ἄλλα δένδρα τὸ ἄνθος 
ἔχοντα ὅμοιον τῷ λευκοΐῳ, πλὴν ἄοδμον καὶ τῷ 
μεγέθει τετραπλάσιον τῶν ἴων. καὶ ἕτερον δέ τι 
δένδρον πολύφυλλον ὥσπερ τὸ ῥόδον: τοῦτο δὲ 
τὴν μὲν νύκτα συμμύειν ἅμα δὲ τῷ ἡλίῳ ἀνιόντι 
διοίγνυσθαι, μεσημβρίας δὲ τελέως διεπτύχθαι, 
πάλιν δὲ τῆς δείλης συνάγεσθαι κατὰ μικρὸν καὶ 
τὴν νύκτα συμμύειν: λέγειν δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐγχω- 
ρίους ὅτι καθεύδει. γίνεσθαι δὲ καὶ φοίνικας ἐν 
τῇ νήσῳ καὶ ἀμπέλους καὶ τἄλλα ἀκρόδρυα καὶ 
συκᾶς οὐ φυλλορροούσας. ὕδωρ δὲ οὐράνιον γίνε- 
σθαι μέν, οὐ μὴν χρῆσθαί γε πρὸς τοὺς καρπούς" 
ἀλλ᾽ εἶναι κρήνας ἐν τῇ νήσῳ πολλάς, ἀφ᾽ ὧν 
πάντα βρέχειν, ὃ ὃ καὶ συμφέρειν μᾶλλον τῷ σίτῳ 
καὶ τοῖς δένδρεσιν. δι’ ὃ καὶ ὅταν ὕσῃ τοῦτο ἐπ- 
αφιέν αι καθαπερεὶ καταπλύνοντας ἐκεῖνο. καὶ 
τὰ μὲν ἐν τῇ ἔξω θαλάττῃ δένδρα Ta ye νῦν 
τεθεωρημένα σχεδὸν τοσαῦτά ἐστιν. 

VIII. Ὑπὲρ δὲ τῶν ἐν τοῖς ποταμοῖς καὶ τοῖς 
ἕλεσι καὶ ταῖς λίμναις μετὰ ταῦτα λεκτέον. τρία 
δέ ἐστιν εἴδη τῶν ἐν τούτοις, τὰ μὲν δένδρα τὰ δ᾽ 


1 ἐξείρειν conj. W.; ἐξειαίρειν P,; ἐξαίρειν Ald. 24.5, 8. 

5. Txmarind, See Index App. (15). Plin. 12. 40. 

4 πλὴν ἄοδμον conj. H. Steph.; ; πλείονα ὄδμον UMAId. 

5. τῷ μεγέθει καὶ 1 conj.; καὶ τῷ μεγέθει UMVP; καὶ om. Ald. 

6 Tamarind also. See Index App. (16). 7 7.e. leaflets. 

8 Ficus laccifera. See Index App. (17). οὐ φυλλορροούσας 
conj. W., ef. G and Plin, l.c.; at φυλλορροοῦσιν Ald. H. 


344 


ENQUIRY INFO°.PLANTS, IV. vi. 7=vut. 1 


and closed, but when it is ripe, it unfolds and puts 
forth! the ‘ wool,’ of which they weave their fabrics, 
some of which are cheap and some very expensive. 

This tree is also found, as was said,? in India 
as well as in Arabia. They say that there are other 
trees® with a flower like the gilliflower, but scent- 
less and in size® four times as large as that flower. 
And that there is another tree® with many leaves‘ 
like the rose, and that this closes at night, but opens 
at sunrise, and by noon is completely unfolded ; and 
at evening again it closes by degrees and remains 
shut at night, and the natives say that it goes to 
sleep. Also that there are date-palms on the island 
and vines and other fruit-trees, including evergreen ὃ 
figs. Also that there is water from heaven, but 
that they do not use it for the fruits, but that there 
are many springs on the island, from which they 
water everything, and that this is more beneficial 9 
to the corn and the trees. Wherefore, even when it 
rains, they let this water over the fields,!° as though 
they were washing away the rain water. Such 
are the trees as so far observed which grow in the 
outer sea. 


Of the plants of rivers, marshes, and lakes, especially in Egypt. 


VIII. Next we must speak of plants which live in 
rivers marshes and lakes. Of these there are three 
classes, trees, plants of ‘ herbaceous’ !! character, and 


9 ὃ καὶ συμφέρειν conj. Sch.; ἃ καὶ συμφέρει Ald.; U has 
συμφέρειν. 

10 cf. C.P. 2. 5. 5, where Androsthenes, one of Alexander’s 
admirals, is given as the authority for this statement. 

11 The term τὰ ποιώδη seems to be given here a narrower 
connotation than usual, in order that τὰ λοχμώδη may be 
distinguished. 


345 


ceo 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ὥσπερ ποιώδη τὰ δὲ λοχμώδη. λέγω δὲ ποιώδη 
μὲν οἷον τὸ σέλινον τὸ ἕλειον καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τοι- 
αῦτα: λοχμώδη δὲ κάλαμον κύπειρον φλεὼ σχοῖ- 
νον βούτομον, ἅπερ σχεδὸν κοινὰ πάντων τῶν 
ποταμῶν καὶ τῶν τοιούτων τόπων. 

᾿Ενιαχοῦ δὲ καὶ βάτοι καὶ παλίουροι καὶ τὰ 
ἄλλα δένδρα, καθάπερ ἰ ἰτέα λεύκη πλάτανος. τὰ 
μὲν οὖν μέχρι τοῦ κατακρύπτεσθαι, τὰ δὲ ὥστε 
μικρὸν ὑπερέχειν, τῶν δὲ αἱ μὲν ῥίξαι καὶ μικρὸν 
τοῦ στεέλέχους ἐν τῷ ὑγρῷ, τὸ δὲ ἄλλο σῶμα πᾶν 
ἔξω. τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ἐτέᾳ καὶ κλήθρᾳ καὶ πλατάνῳ 
καὶ φιλύρᾳ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς φιλύδροις συμβαίνει. 

“Σχεδὸν 88 καὶ ταῦτα κοινὰ πάντων τῶν ποτα- 
μῶν ἐστιν: ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν τῷ Νείλῳ πέφυκεν' οὐ 
μὴν πολλή γε ἡ πλάτανος, ἀλλὰ σπανιωτέρα ἔτι 
ταύτης ἡ λεύκη, πλείστη δὲ μελία καὶ βουμέλιος. 
τῶν γοῦν ἐν Αὐγύπτῳ φυομένων τὸ μὲν ὅλον 
πολὺ πλῆθός ἐστιν πρὸς τὸ ἀριθμήσασθαι καθ᾽ 
ἕκαστον" οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾽ ὥς γε ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ἅπαντα 
ἐδώδιμα καὶ χυλοὺς ἔχοντα γλυκεῖς. διαφέρειν 
δὲ δοκεῖ τῇ γλυκύτητι καὶ τῷ τρόφιμα μάλιστα 
εἶναι τρία ταῦτα, ὅ τε πάπυρος καὶ τὸ καλού- 
μενον σάρι καὶ τρίτον ὃ μνάσιον καλοῦσι. 

Φύεται δὲ ὁ ὁ πάπυρος οὐκ ἐν βάθει τοῦ ὕδατος 
ἀλλ᾽ ὅσον ἐν δύο πήχεσιν, ἐνιαχοῦ δὲ καὶ ἐν 
ἐλάττονι. πάχος μὲν οὖν τῆς ῥίξης ἡλίκον καρ- 
πὸς χειρὸς ἀνδρὸς εὐρώστου, μῆκος δὲ ὑπὲρ τε- 
τράπηχυ' φύεται δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς γῆς αὐτῆς, πλαγίας 
pias εἰς τὸν πηλὸν καθιεῖσα λεπτὰς καὶ πυκνάς, 
ἄνω δὲ τοὺς παπύρους καλουμένους τριγώνους, 


1 τῶν γοῦν x.T.A.: text probably defective; what follows 
appears to relate to τὰ ποιώδη. 


346 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vin. 1-3 


plants growing in clumps. By ‘herbaceous’ I mean 
here such plants as the marsh celery and the like; 
by ‘plants growing in clumps’ I mean reeds galin- 
gale phleo rush sedge—which are common to almost 
all rivers and such situations. 

And in some such places are found brambles 
Christ’s thorn and other trees, such as willow abele 
plane. Some of these are water plants to the extent 
of being submerged, while some project a little from 
the water; of some again the roots and a small part 
of the stem are under water, but the rest of the 
body is altogether above it. This is the case with 
willow alder plane lime, and all water-loving trees. 

These too are common to almost all rivers, for 
they grow even in the Nile. However the plane is 
not abundant by rivers, while the abele is even more 
scarce, and the manna-ash and ash are commonest. 
At any rate of those! that grow in Egypt the list is 
too long to enumerate separately ; however, to speak 
generally, they are all edible and have sweet flavours. 
But they differ in sweetness, and we may distinguish 
also three as the most eet for food, namely the 
papyrus, the plant called sarz, and the plant which 
they call mnasvon. 

*The papyrus does not grow in deep water, but 
only in a depth of about two cubits, and sometimes 
shallower. The thickness of the root is that of the 
wrist of a stalwart man, and the length above four 
cubits*; it grows above the ground itself, throwing 
down slender matted roots into the mud, and 
producing above the stalks which give it its name 
‘papyrus’ ; these are three-cornered and about ten 


Eline sess: 
3 τετράπηχυ: δέκα πήχεις MSS. See next note. 


347 


THEOPHRASTUS 


μέγεθος ὡς δέκα πήχεις, κόμην ἔχοντας ἀχρεῖον 
ἀσθενῆ καρπὸν δὲ ὅλως οὐδένα" τούτους δ᾽ ἀναδί- 
δωσι κατὰ πολλὰ μέρη. χρῶνται δὲ ταῖς μὲν 
ῥίζαις ἀντὶ ξύλων οὐ μόνον τῷ κάειν ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ 
σκεύη ἄλλα ποιεῖν ἐξ αὐτῶν παντοδαπά: πολὺ 
γὰρ ἔχει τὸ ξύλον καὶ καλόν. αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ πά- 
πυρος πρὸς πλεῖστα χρήσιμος" καὶ γὰρ πλοῖα 
ποιοῦσιν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τῆς βίβλου ἱστία τε 
πλέκουσι καὶ ψιάθους καὶ ἐσθῆτά τινα καὶ 
στρωμνὰς καὶ σχοινία τε καὶ ἕτερα πλείω. καὶ 
ἐμφανέστατα δὴ τοῖς ἔξω τὰ βιβλία: μάλιστα δὲ 
καὶ πλείστη βοήθεια πρὸς τὴν τροφὴν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ 
γίνεται. μασῶνται γὰρ ἅπαντες οἱ ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ 
τὸν πάπυρον καὶ ὠμὸν καὶ ἑφθὸν καὶ ὀπτόν" καὶ 
τὸν μὲν χυλὸν καταπίνουσι, τὸ δὲ μάσημα ἐκβάλ- 
λουσιν. ὁ μὲν οὖν πάπυρος τοιοῦτός τε καὶ ταύ- 
τας παρέχεται τὰς χρείας. γίνεται δὲ καὶ ἐν 
Συρίᾳ περὶ τὴν λίμνην ἐν 7 καὶ ὁ κάλαμος ὁ 
εὐώδης: ὅθεν καὶ ᾿Αντίγονος εἰς τὰς ναῦς ἐποιεῖτο 
τὰ σχοινία. 

Τὸ ὸ δὲ σάρι φύεται μὲν ἐν τῷ ὕδατι περὶ τὰ ἕλη 
καὶ τὰ πεδία, ἐπειδὰν ὁ ὁ ποταμὸς ἀπέλθῃ, ῥίξαν δὲ 
ἔχει σκληρὰν καὶ συνεστραμμένην, καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς 
φύεται τὰ σαρία καλούμενα" ταῦτα δὲ μῆκος μὲν 
ὡς δύο πήχεις, πάχος δὲ ἡλίκον ὁ δάκτυλος ὁ 
μέγας τῆς χειρός" τρίγωνον δὲ καὶ τοῦτο, καθάπερ 
ὁ πάπυρος, καὶ κόμην ἔχον παραπλήσιον. μα- 
σώμενοι δὲ ἐκβάλλουσι καὶ τοῦτο τὸ μάσημα, TH 
ῥίζῃ δὲ οἱ σιδηρουργοὶ χρῶνται" τὸν yap ἄνθρακα 
ποιεῖ χρηστὸν διὰ τὸ σκληρὸν εἶναι τὸ ξύλον. 

δὲ μνάσιον ποιῶδές ἐστιν, ὥστ᾽ οὐδεμίαν 
παρέχεται χρείαν πλὴν τὴν εἰς τροφήν. 


348 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vin. 3-6 


cubits! long, having a plume which is useless and 
weak, and no fruit whatever; and these stalks the 
plant sends up at many points. They use the roots 
instead of wood, not only for burning, but also for 
making a great variety of articles; for the wood is 
abundant and good. ‘The ‘ papyrus’ itself? is useful 
for many purposes; for they make boats from it, 
and from the rind they weave sails mats a kind of 
raiment coverlets ropes and many other things. 
Most familiar to foreigners are the papyrus-rolls 
made of it; but above all the plant also is of very 
great use in the way of food.’ For all the natives 
chew the papyrus both raw boiled and roasted ; they 
swallow the juice and spit out the quid. Such is 
the papyrus and such its uses. It grows also in 
Syria about the lake in which grows also sweet- 
flag; and Antigonus made of it the cables for his 
ships. 

4The sari grows in the water in marshes and 
plains, when the river has left them; it has a hard 
twisted root, and from it grow what they call the 
saria®; these are about two cubits long and as 
thick as a man’s thumb; this stalk too is three- 
cornered, like the papyrus, and has similar foliage. 
This also they chew, spitting out the quid; and 
smiths use the root, for it makes excellent charcoal, 
because the wood is hard. 

Mnasion is herbaceous, so that it has no use except 
for food. 


1 δέκα πήχεις : τετραπήχεις MSS. The two numbers seem 
to have changed places (Bartels ap. Sch.). ς΄. Plin, le. 

2 ¢.e. the stalk. 

8. ef. Diod. 1. 80. 4 ῬΠΠ 13: 129: 

5 7,6. stalks, like those of the papyrus. 


349 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Kal ta μὲν γλυκύτητι διαφέροντα ταῦτά ἐστι. 
φύεται δὲ καὶ ἕτερον ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσι καὶ ταῖς λίμ- 
vats ὃ οὐ συνάπτει τῇ γῆ, τὴν μὲν φύσιν ὅμοιοι 
τοῖς κρίνοις, πολυφυλλότερον δὲ καὶ παρ᾽ ἄλληλα 
τὰ φύλλα καθάπερ ἐν διστοιχίᾳ" Δρῶμα δὲ χλω- 
ρὸν ἔχει σφόδρα. χρῶνται δὲ οἱ ἰατροὶ πρός τε 
τὰ γυναικεῖα αὐτῷ καὶ πρὸς τὰ κατάγματα. 

[Ταῦτα δὲ γίνεται ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ εἰ μὴ ὁ ῥοῦς 
ἐξέφερεν' συμβαίνει δὲ ὥστε καὶ ἀποφέρεσθαι' 
ἕτερα ᾿ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν πλείω. | 

ὋὉ δὲ κύαμος φύεται μὲν ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσι καὶ λίμ- 
vais, καυλὸς δὲ αὐτοῦ μῆκος μὲν ὁ μακρότατος 
εἰς τέτταρας πήχεις, πάχος δὲ δακτυλιαῖος, 
ὅμοιος δὲ καλάμῳ μαλακῷ ἀγονάτῳ. διαφύσεις 
δὲ ἔνδοθεν ἔχει δι᾽ ὅλου διειλημμένας ὁμοίας τοῖς 
κηρίοις: ἐπὶ τούτῳ δὲ ἡ ἢ κωδύα, παρομοία σφηκίῳ 
περιφερεῖ, καὶ ἐν ἑκάστῳ τῶν κυττάρων κύαμος 
μικρὸν ὑπεραίρων αὐτῆς, πλῆθος δὲ οἱ πλεῖστοι 
τριάκοντα. τὸ δὲ ἄνθος διπλάσιον ἢ μήκωνος, 
χρῶμα δὲ ὅμοιον ῥόδῳ κατακορές" ἐπάνω δὲ τοῦ 
ὕδατος ἡ κωδύα. mapapverar δὲ φύλλα μεγάλα 
παρ᾽ ἕκαστον τῶν κυάμων, ὧν ἴσα τὰ μεγέθη 
πετάσῳ Θετταλικῇ τὸν αὐτὸν ἔχοντα καυλὸν τῷ 
τῶν κυάμων. συντρίψαντι δ᾽ ἕκαστον τῶν κυά- 
pov φανερόν ἐστι τὸ πικρὸν συνεστραμμένον, ἐξ 





1 Ottelia alismoeides, See Index App. (18). 

2 ταῦτα... πλείω conj. W. after Sch.; I have also trans- 
posed the two sentences, after Sch. The whole passage in [ ] 
(which is omitted by G) i is apparently either an interpolation 
or defective. σημαίνει δὲ ὥσπερ καὶ ἀποφέρεσθαι: ἕτερα δὲ ἀπ’ 
αὐτῶν τὰ πλεῖα: ταῦτα δὲ γίνεται ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ" εἰ μὴ ὁ pods 
ἐξέφερεν Ald.; so also U, but αὑτῶν πλείω. 


3590 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vin. 6-7 


Such are the plants which excel in sweetness of 
taste. There is also another plant! which grows in 
the marshes and lakes, but which does not take hold 
of the ground; in character it is like a lily, but it is 
more leafy, and has its leaves opposite to one 
another, as it were in a double row; the colour is a 
deep green. Physicians use it for the complaints of 
women and for fractures. 

Now these plants grow in the river, unless the 
stream has thrown them up on land; it sometimes 
happens that they are borne down the stream, and 
that then other plants grow from them.? 

5 But the ‘Egyptian bean’ grows in the marshes 
and lakes; the length of its stalk at longest is four 
cubits, it is as thick as a man’s finger, and resembles 
a pliant’ reed without joints. Inside it has tubes 
which run distinct from one another right through, 
like a honey-comb: on this is set the ‘head,’ which 
is like a round wasps’ nest, and in each of the cells is 
a ‘bean,’ which slightly projects from it; at most 
there are thirty of these. The flower is twice as 
large as a poppy’s, and the colour is like a rose, of a 
deep shade; the ‘head’ is above the water. Large 
leaves grow at the side of each plant, equal ® in size 
to a Thessalian hat®; these have a stalk exactly like 
that? of the plant. If one of the ‘beans’ is crushed, 
you find the bitter substance coiled up, of which the 


5 Plin. 18. 121 and 122. 

4 μαλακῷ Ald.H.G Plin. l.c. Athen. 3. 2 cites the passage 
with μακρῷ. 

5 ἴσα conj. W.; καὶ Ald. 

6 πετάσῳ conj. Sch. from Diose. 2. 106; πίλῳ Ald.H.; of 
πέτασοι are mentioned below (δ 9) without explanation. The 
comparison is omitted by ἃ and Plin. l.c. 

7 4.e. that which carries the κωδύα, 


35! 


THEOPHRASTUS 


8 οὗ γίνεται ὁ πῖλος. τὰ μὲν. οὖν περὶ τὸν καρπὸν 
τοιαῦτα. ἡ δὲ ῥίξα παχυτέρα τοῦ καλάμου τοῦ 
παχυτάτου καὶ διαφύσεις ὁμοίως, ἔχουσα τῷ 
καυλῷ. ἐσθίουσι δ᾽ αὐτὴν καὶ ὠμὴν καὶ ἑφθὴν 
καὶ ὀπτήν, καὶ οἱ περὶ τὰ ἕλη τούτῳ σίτῳ χρῶν- 
ται. φύεται μὲν οὖν ὁ πολὺς αὐτόματος" οὐ μὴν 
ἀλλὰ καὶ καταβάλλουσιν ἐν πηλῷ ἀχυρώσαντες 
εὖ μάλα πρὸς τὸ κατενεχθῆναί τε καὶ μεῖναι καὶ 
μὴ διαφθαρῆναι: καὶ οὕτω κατασκευάζουσι τοὺς 
κυαμῶνας" ἂν δ ἅπαξ ἀντιλάβηται, μένει διὰ 
τέλους. ἰσχυρὰ γὰρ ἡ ῥίζα καὶ οὐ πόρρω τῆς 
τῶν καλάμων πλὴν ἐπακανθίζουσα' δι’ ὃ καὶ ὁ 
κροκόδειλος φεύγει μὴ προσκόψῃ τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ 
τῷ μὴ ὀξὺ καθορᾷν' γίνεται δὲ οὗτος καὶ ἐν 
Συρίᾳ καὶ κατὰ Κιλικίαν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐκπέττουσιν 
αἱ χῶραι" καὶ περὶ Τορώνην τῆς Χαλκιδικῆς ἐν 
λίμνῃ τινὶ “μετρίᾳ τῷ μεγέθει" καὶ αὐτοῦ πέττεται 
τελέως καὶ τελεοκαρπεῖ. 

ὋὉ δὲ λωτὸς καλούμενος φύεται μὲν ὁ πλεῖστος 
ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις, ὃ ὅταν ἡ χώρα κατακλυσθῇ. τού- 
του δὲ ἡ μὲν τοῦ καυλοῦ φύσις ὁμοία τῇ τοῦ 
κυάμου, καὶ οἱ πέτασοι δὲ ὡσαύτως, πλὴν ἐλάτ- 
τους καὶ λεπτότεροι. ἐπιφύεται δὲ ὁμοίως ὁ 
καρπὸς τῷ τοῦ κυάμου. τὸ ἄνθος αὐτοῦ λευκὸν 
ἐμφερὲς τῇ στενότητι τῶν φύλλων τοῖς τοῦ 
κρίνου, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ πυκνὰ ἐπ᾽ ἀλλήλοις φύεται. 
ταῦτα δὲ ὅ ὅταν μὲν ὁ ἥλιος δύῃ συμμύει καὶ συγ- 
καλύπτει τὴν κωδύαν, ἅμα δὲ τῇ ἀνατολῇ διοί- 


1 ὃ πῖλος UMV; 7 πῖλος Ald.H.; ?=germen Sch. 

2 of. Diosc. 2. 107. 

5 καὶ καταβ. conj. W.; καταβ. Ald.; καταβ. δ᾽ UMV. 
4 Plin. 13. 107 and 108. 


585 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vit. 7-9 


pilos! is made. So much for the fruit. The root 
is thicker than the thickest reed, and is made up of 
distinct tubes, like the stalk. *They eat it both 
raw boiled and roasted, and the people of the 
marshes make this their food. It mostly grows of 
its own accord; however they also sow? it in the 
mud, having first well mixed the seed with chaff, so 
that it may be carried down and remain in the 
ground without being rotted; and so they prepare 
the ‘bean’ fields, and if the plant once takes hold it 
is permanent. For the root is strong and not unlike 
that of reeds, except that it is prickly on the surface. 
Wherefore the crocodile avoids it, lest he may strike 
his eye on it, since he has not sharp sight. This 
plant also grows in Syria and in parts of Cilicia, but 
these countries cannot ripen it; also about Torone in 
Chalcidice in a certain lake of small size; and this 
lake ripens it perfectly and matures its fruit. 

te plant called the lotos (Nile water-lily) grows 
chiefly in the plains when the land is inundated. 
The character of the stalk of this plant is like that 
of the ‘Egyptian bean,’ and so are the ‘hat-like’ 
leaves,> except that they are smaller and slenderer. 
And the fruit ® grows on the stalk in the same way 
as that of the ‘bean.’ The flower is white, resem- 
bling in the narrowness of its petals those of the 
lily,” but there are many petals growing close one 
upon another. When the sun sets, these close® and 
cover up the ‘head,’ but with sunrise they open and 


rep. 8:7: 
5 καρπὸς conj. W.; Awrds MSS. Possibly the fruit was 
Bpecially called λωτός. 
7 of. Hdt. 2. 92; Diosc. 4. 113. 
8 δύῃ, συμμύει conj. St.; συμμύει MV; συμμύη U3 συμμύῃ 
(omitting καὶ) Ald. Η. 


353 


12 


THEOPHRASTUS 


yetat καὶ ὑπὲρ tod ὕδατος γίνεται. τοῦτο δὲ 
ποιεῖ μέχρι ἂν ἡ κωδύα ἐκτελεωθῇ καὶ τὰ ἄνθη 
ι0 περιρρυῇ. τῆς δὲ κωδύας τὸ μέγεθος. ἡλίκον 
μήκωνος τῆς μεγίστης, καὶ διέξωσται ταῖς κατα- 
τομαῖς τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τῇ μήκωνι" πλὴν πυκνο- 
τερος ἐν ταύταις ὁ καρπός. ἔστι δὲ παρόμοιος 


τῷ 


κέγχρῳ. ἐν δὲ τῷ Εὐφράτῃ τὴν κωδύαν φασὶ 


καὶ τὰ ἄνθη δύνειν καὶ ὑποκαταβαίνειν τῆς ὀψίας 
μέχρι μεσῶν νυκτῶν καὶ τῷ βάθει πόρρω" οὐδὲ 
γὰρ καθιέντα τὴν χεῖρα λαβεῖν εἶναι. μετὰ δὲ 
ταῦτα ὅταν ὄρθρος ἢ πάλιν ἐπανιέναι καὶ πρὸς 
ἡμέραν ἔτι μᾶλλον, ἅμα τῷ ἡλίῳ φανερὸν <dv> 
ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ ἀνοίγειν τὸ ἄνθος, ἀνοιχθέν- 
τος δὲ ἔτι ἀναβαίνειν" συχνὸν δὲ τὸ ὑπεραῖρον 
ll εἶναι τὸ ὕδωρ. τὰς δὲ κωδύας ταύτας οἱ Αἰγύ- 
πτίιοι συνθέντες εἰς, τὸ αὐτὸ σήπουσιν' ἐπὰν δὲ 
σαπῇ τὸ κέλυφος, ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ κλύζοντες ἐξαι- 
ροῦσι τὸν καρπόν, ξηράναντες δὲ καὶ πτίσαντες 
ἄρτους ποιοῦσι καὶ τούτῳ χρῶνται σιτίῳ. ἡ δὲ 
pila τοῦ λωτοῦ καλεῖται μὲν κόρσιον, ἐστὶ δὲ 
στρογγύλη, τὸ μέγεθος ἡλίκον “μῆλον Κυδώνεον᾽ 
φλοιὸς δὲ περίκειται περὶ αὐτὴν μέλας ἐμφερὴς 


τῷ 


\ 
κασταναϊκῷ καρύῳ" τὸ δὲ ἐντὸς λευκόν, ἑψό- 


μενον δὲ καὶ ὀπτώμενον γίνεται λεκιθῶδες, ἡδὺ δὲ 


ἐν 


δὲ 


τῇ προσφορᾷ: ἐσθίεται δὲ καὶ ὠμή, ἀρίστη 
ἐν [τῷ] ὕδατι ἑφθὴ καὶ ὀπτή. καὶ τὰ μὲν 


ἐν τοῖς ὕδασιν σχεδὸν ταῦτά ἐστιν. 


354 


Ἔν δὲ τοῖς ἀμμώδεσι χωρίοις, ἅ ἐστιν οὐ πόρρω 


1 ef. Diosce. ζ. 6. 3 ef CPi 2, 199-15. Pling V3: 208. 
3 ὀψίας conj. W. from Plin. l.c.; ? ὀψίας ὥρας. 

4 «ὃν» add. W. 

5 κέλυφος 1.6. fruit: καρπόν te, seeds, 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. vit. 9-12 


appear above the water. This the plant does until 
the ‘head’ is matured and the flowers have fallen oft. 
1 The size of the ‘head’ is that of the largest poppy, 
and it has grooves all round it in the same way as 
the poppy, but the fruit is set closer in these. ‘This 
is like millet. 2In the Euphrates they say that the 
‘head’ and the flowers sink and go under water in 
the evening? till midnight, and sink to a consider- 
able depth; for one can not even reach them by 
plunging one’s hand in; and that after this, when 
dawn comes round, they rise and goon rising towards 
day-break, being* visible above the water when the 
sun appears; and that then the plant opens its flower, 
and, after itis open, it still rises; and that it is 
a considerable part which projects above the water. 
These ‘heads’ the Egyptians heap together and 
leave to decay, and when the ‘pod ’® has decayed, they 
wash the ‘ head’ in the river and take out the $ fruit,’ ὃ 
and, having dried and pounded ὃ it, they make loaves 
of it, which they use for food. The root of the lotos 
is called korsion,’ and it is round and about the size 
of a quince ; it is enclosed in a black ‘bark,’ like the 
shell of a chestnut. ‘The inside is white; but when 
it is boiled or roasted, it becomes of the colour of 
the yolk of an egg and is sweet to taste. The root 
is also eaten raw, though it is best when boiled in 
water or roasted.® Such are the plants found in 
water. 

In sandy places which are not® far from the river 

6 πτίσαντες : cf. Hdt. 2. 92. 7 ef. Strabo 17. 2. 4. 

8 ἐσθίεται. .. ὀπτή conj. Sch. from Plin. /.c. and G; ἐσθ. 
δὲ καὶ ὠμόν: ἀρίστη δὲ ἐν τοῖς ὕδασιν αὐτὴ wun Ald.; ἀρίστη δὲ 
καὶ τοῖς ὕδασιν αὐτὴν UMV, then oun U, ὠμῆ V, wun M ; ἀρίστη 
δὲ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι ἑφθὴ ἣ καὶ ὀπτή Η. 

® οὐ was apparently not in Pliny’s text; (21. 88.) 


355 


13 


14 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Tov ποταμοῦ, φύεται κατὰ γῆς ὃ καλεῖται μαλιν- 
αθάλλη, στρογγύλον τῷ σχήματι μέγεθος δὲ 
ἡλίκον μέσπιλον ἀπύρηνον δὲ ἄφλοιον'" φύλλα 
δὲ ἀφίησιν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ὅμοια κυπείρῳ' ταῦτα 
συνάγοντες οἱ κατὰ τὴν χώραν ἕψουσιν ἐ ἐν βρυτῷ 
τῷ ἀπὸ τῶν κριθῶν. καὶ γίνεται, γλυκέα σφόδρα' 
χρῶνται δὲ πάντες ὥσπερ τραγήμασι. 

Τοῖς δὲ βουσὶ καὶ τοῖς προβάτοις ἅπαντα μὲν 
τὰ φυόμενα. ἐδώδιμά ἐ ἐστιν, ἕν δέ τι γένος ἐν ταῖς 
λίμναις καὶ τοῖς ἕλεσι φύεται διαφέρον, ὃ ὃ καὶ 
χκωρὸν νέμονται καὶ ξηραίνοντες παρέχουσι κατὰ 
χειμῶνα τοῖς βουσὶν ὅταν ἐργάσωνται" καὶ τὰ 
σώματα ἔχουσιν εὖ σίτου ἄλλο λαμβάνοντες 
οὐθέν. 

Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλο παραφυόμενον αὐτόματον 
ἐν τῷ σίτῳ: τοῦτο δέ, ὅταν ὁ σῖτος ἢ καθαρός, 
ὑποπτίσαντες καταβάλλουσι τοῦ χειμῶνος ὑγ- 
ρὰν εἰς γῆν' βλαστήσαντος δὲ τεμόντες καὶ 
ξηράναντες παρέχουσι καὶ τοῦτο βουσὶ καὶ 
ἵπποις καὶ τοῖς ὑποζυγίοις σὺν τῷ καρπῷ τῷ ἐπι- 
γινομένῳ: ὁ δὲ καρπὸς μέγεθος μὲν ἡλίκον σή- 
σαμον, στρογγύλος δὲ καὶ τῷ χρώματι χλωρός, 
ἀγαθὸς δὲ διαφερόντως. ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ μὲν οὖν 
τὰ περιττὰ σχεδὸν ταῦτα ἄν τις “λάβοι. 

IX. ἽἝκαστοι δὲ τῶν» “ποταμῶν ἐοίκασιν ἴδιόν 
τι φέρειν, ὥσπερ καὶ τῶν χερσαίων. ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ 
ὁ τρίβολος ἐν ἅπασιν οὐδὲ πανταχοῦ φύεται, 
ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἑλώδεσι τῶν ποταμῶν" ἐν μεγίστῳ 
δὲ βάθει πενταπήχει ἢ μικρῷ μείζονι, καθάπερ 





1 Plin. 1.6. anthalium, whence Salm. conj. ἀνθάλλιον. 
2 Saccharum biflorum. See Index App. (19). 
3 εὖ σίτου ἄλλο conj. W.; εὐσιτοῦντα Ald. 


356 


ENQUIRY iNTO PLANTS, IV, vit. 12-1x. 1 


there grows under ground the thing called malina- 
thalle}; this is round in shape and as large asa medlar, 
but has no stone and no bark. It sends out leaves 
like those of galingale. These the people of the 
country collect and boil in beer made from barley, 
and they become extremely sweet, and all men use 
them as sweetmeats. 

All the things that grow in such places may be 
eaten by oxen and sheep, but there is one kind of 
plant ? which grows in the lakes and marshes which is 
specially good for food: they graze their cattle on it 
when it is green, and also dry it and give it in the 
winter to the oxen after their work; and these keep 
in good condition when they have no other? kind 
of food. 

There is also another plant 4 which comes up of its 
own accord among the corn; this, when the harvest 
is cleared, they crush slightly°® and lay during the 
winter on® moist ground; when it shoots, they cut 
and dry it and give this also to the cattle and horses 
and beasts of burden with the fruit which forms on 
it. The fruit in size is as large as sesame, but round 


and green in colour, and exceedingly good. Such 
one might take to be specially remarkable plants of 
Egypt. 


IX. Every river seems to bear some peculiar plant, 
just as does each part of the dryland. 7 For not even 
the water-chestnut grows in all rivers nor everywhere, 
but only in marshy rivers, and only in those whose 
depth is not more or not much more than five cubits, 

4 Corchorus trilocularis. See Index App. (20). 

5G seems to have read ὑποπτίσαντες (leviter pinsentes) ; 
ὑποπτήσαντες ὟΝ. with Ald.H. 

8 εἰς conj. W.; τὴν Ald. 

7 Plin. 21. 98 ; Diosc. 4. 15. 


351 


7) 


THEOPHRASTUS 


περὶ τὸν Στρυμόνα" σχεδὸν δὲ ἐν τοσούτῳ καὶ 
ὁ κάλαμος καὶ τὰ ἄλλα. ὑπερέχει δὲ οὐθὲν 
αὐτοῦ πλὴν αὐτὰ τὰ φύλλα ὥσπερ ἐπινέοντα 
καὶ κρύπτοντα τὸν τρίβολον, ὁ δὲ τρίβολος αὐτὸς 
ἐν τῷ ὕδατι νεύων εἰς βυθόν. τὸ δὲ φύλλον ἐστὶ 
πλατὺ προσεμφερὲς τῷ τῆς πτελέας, μίσχον δὲ 
ἔχει σφόδρα μακρόν" ὁ δὲ καυλὸς ἐξ ἄκρου 
παχύτατος, ὅθεν τὰ φύλλα καὶ ὃ καρπός, τὰ 
δὲ κάτω λεπτότερος ἀεὶ μέχρι τῆς ῥίξης' ἔχει 
δὲ ἀποπεφυκότα ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ “τριχώδη τὰ μὲν 
πλεῖστα παράλληλα τὰ δὲ καὶ παραλλάττοντα, 
κάτωθεν ἀπὸ τῆς ῥίζης μεγάλα τὰ δὲ ἄνω ἀεὶ ἐλάτ- 
τω προϊοῦσιν, ὥστε τὰ τελευταῖα μικρὰ πάμπαν 
εἶναι καὶ τὴν διαφορὰν μεγάλην τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς 
ῥίζης πρὸς τὸν καρπόν. ἔχει δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἑνὸς 
καυλοῦ καὶ παραβλαστήματα πλείω: καὶ γὰρ 
τρία καὶ τέτταρα, μέγιστον ἐν αἰεὶ τὸ πλησιαί- 
τερον τῆς ῥίζης, εἶτα τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὰ 
ἄλλα κατὰ λόγον. τὸ δὲ παραβλάστημά ἐστιν 
ὥσπερ καυλὸς ἄλλος λεπτότερος μὲν τοῦ πρώτου, 
τὰ δὲ φύλλα καὶ τὸν καρπὸν ἔχων ὁμοίως. ὁ 
δὲ καρπὸς μέλας καὶ σκληρὸς σφόδρα. ῥίξαν 
δὲ ἡλίκην καὶ ποίαν ἔχει σκεπτέον. ἡ μὲν οὖν 
φύσις τοιαύτη. φύεται μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ καρποῦ 
τοῦ πίπτοντος καὶ ἀφίησι βλαστὸν τοῦ ἦρος" 
φασὶ δὲ οἱ μὲν εἶναι, ἐπέτειον οἱ δὲ διαμένειν 
γὴν μὲν ῥίζαν εἰς χρόνον, ἐξ ἧς καὶ τὴν βλά- 
στησιν εἶναι τοῦ καυλοῦ. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν σκε- 
πτέον. ἴδιον δὲ παρὰ τἄλλα τὸ τῶν παραφυομένων 
ἐκ τοῦ καυλοῦ τριχωδῶν: οὔτε γὰρ φύλλα ταῦτα 
οὔτε καυλός: ἐπεὶ τό γε τῆς παραβλαστήσεως 
κοινὸν καλάμου καὶ ἄλλων. 


358 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. rx. 1-3 


as the Strymon. (In rivers of such a depth grow 
also reeds and other plants.) No part of it projects 
from the water except just the leaves; these float as 
it were and conceal the ‘ chestnut,’ which is itself 
under water and bends down towards the bottom. 
The leaf is broad, like that of the elm, and has a 
very long stalk. The stem is thickest at the top, 
whence spring the leaves and the fruit ; below it gets 
thinner down to the root. It has springing from it 
hair-like growths, most of which are parallel to each 
other, but some are irregular; below, starting from 
the root, they are large, but, as one gets higher up 
the plant, they become smaller, so that those at the 
top are quite small and there is a great contrast 
between the root and the top where the fruit grows. 
The plant also has on the same stalk several side- 
growths; of these there are three or four, and the 
largest is always that which is nearer to the root, 
the next largest is the one next above it, and so on 
in proportion : this sidegrowth is like another stalk, 
but slenderer than the original one, though like that 
it has leaves and fruit. The fruit is black and 
extremely hard. The size and character of the root 
are matter for further enquiry. Such isthe character 
of this plant. It grows from the fruit which falls, 
and begins to grow in spring. Some say that it is 
annual, others that the root persists for a time, and 
that from it grows the new stalk. This then is 
matter for enquiry. However quite peculiar to this 
plant is the hair-like character of the growths which 
spring from the stalk; for these are neither leaves 
nor stalk; though reeds and other things have also 
sidegrowths. 


359 


THEOPHRASTUS 


X. Ta μὲν οὖν ἴδια θεωρητέον ἰδίως δῆλον ὅτι, 
\ \ \ lal n ‘ “ 
τὰ δὲ κοινὰ κοινῶς. διαιρεῖν δὲ χρὴ καὶ ταῦτα 
\ \ , \ \ 
κατὰ TOUS τόπους, οἷον εἰ τὰ μὲν ἕλεια τὰ δὲ 
A a \ 
λιμναῖα τὰ δὲ ποτάμια μᾶλλον ἢ Kal κοινὰ πάν- 
lal / - cal an 
To” τῶν τόπων" διαιρεῖν δὲ Kal ποῖα ταὐτὰ ἐν TO 
A a a / x a n r 
ὑγρῷ καὶ τῷ ξηρῷ φύεται, καὶ ποῖα ἐν TO ὑγρῷ 
ς n > n Ν A [2 
μόνον, ὡς ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν πρὸς τὰ κοινότατα εἰρη- 
μένα πρότερον. 
2 2 95 a / a ἮΝ ’ 
Ev δ᾽ οὖν τῇ λίμνῃ τῇ περὶ ᾿Ορχομενὸν τάδ 
> \ Ν / / \ δ / >’ Me 
ἐστὶ τὰ φυόμενα δένδρα καὶ ὑλήματα, itéa 
> , 7, ΄, ev 5) \ \ ε 
ἐλαίαγνος σίδη κάλαμος ὅ τε αὐλητικὸς καὶ ὁ 
Φ / x 7 ” / 
ἕτερος κύπειρον φλεὼς τύφη, ETL ye pnvavOos 
΄ ἃ 
ἴκμη καὶ τὸ καλούμενον ἴπνον. ὃ γὰρ προσαγο- 
/ / ἢ Ν / > Ὁ , > 
ρεύουσι λέμνα τούτου τὰ πλείω Kal’ ὕδατός ἐστι. 
Ν e 
Τούτων δὲ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα γνώριμα" ὁ δ᾽ ἐλαίαγνος 
, \ 
Kal ἡ σίδη καὶ ἡ μήνανθος Kat ἡ ἴκμη καὶ τὸ 
’ / , 
ἴπνον ἴσως μὲν φύεται καὶ ἑτέρωθι, προσαγορεύε- 
Ν ” 2 / / \ \ > a 
tat δὲ ἄλλοις ὀνόμασι; λεκτέον δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν. 
” NEC \ ’ , ΄ \ A \ 
ἔστι δὲ ὁ μὲν ἐλαίαγνος φύσει μὲν θαμνῶδες καὶ 
, al , ΄ \ x 
παρόμοιον τοῖς ἄγνοις, φύλλον δὲ ἔχει TO μὲν 
Ν 
σχήματι παραπλήσιον μαλακὸν δέ, ὥσπερ αἱ 
7 A DO ” θ δὲ a a 4 
μήηλεαι καὶ χνοωδες. avlos 0€ τῷ τῆς λεύκης 
«“ », \ \ ᾽ / Ne / 
ὅμοιον ἔλαττον: καρπὸν δὲ οὐδένα φέρει. φύεται 
n \ \ an 
δὲ ὁ πλεῖστος μὲν ἐπὶ τῶν πλοάδων νήσων; εἰσὶ 
4 Ἀπ ΙΝ “ / “ > > / 
yap τινες καὶ ἐνταῦθα πλοάδες, ὥσπερ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ 





l τὰ δὲ κοινὰ κοινῶς conj. Sch. from G ; τὰ δὲ κοινῶς Ald. Η, 

2 ταὐτὰ conj. Sch.: ταῦτα Ald. 

3 πρὸς τὰ κοιν. wp. mp. conj. W. supported by G3; κοινότατα 
προσειρημένα πρότερον Ald. H, 


360 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x. 1-2 


Of the plants peculiar to the lake of Orchomenos (Lake Copais), 
especially its reeds ; and of reeds in general. 


X. Plants peculiar to particular places must be 
considered separately, while a general account may 
be given of those which are generally distributed.! 
But even the latter must be classified according to 
locality ; thus some belong to marshes, others to 
lakes, others to rivers, or again others may be common 
to all kinds of locality : we must also distinguish: which 
occur alike? in wet and in dry ground, and which 
only in wet ground, marking these off in a general 
way from those mentioned above as being most 
impartial.* 

Now in the lake near Orchomenos grow the 
following trees and woody plants: willow goat-willow 
water-lily reeds (both that used for making pipes and 
the other kind) galingale phleos bulrush ; and also 
‘moon-flower’ duckweed and the plant called 
marestail: as for the plant called water-chickweed 
the greater part of it grows under water.* 

Now of these most are familiar: the goat-willow 
water-lily ‘moon-flower’ duckweed and marestail 
probably grow also elsewhere, but are called by 
different names. Of these we must speak. The 
goat-willow is of shrubby habit and like the chaste- 
tree: its leaf resembles that leaf in shape, but it is 
soft like that of the apple,® and downy. The bloom ® 
is like that of the abele, but smaller, and it bears no 
fruit. It grows chiefly on the floating islands; (for 
here too there are floating islands, as in the marshes 


4 τούτου Ta πλείω καθ᾽ 6d. conj. Sch.; τοῦτο πλείω τὸ καθ᾽ 59. 
UM ; τοῦτο πλεῖον τὸ καθ᾽ ὑδ. Ald. 

> μηλέαι perhaps here =quince (μηλέα Κυδωνία). 

ὁ ἄνθος here = catkin, 


261 


THEOPHRASTUS 


περὶ Ta ἕλη καὶ ἐν Θεσπρωτίδι καὶ ἐν ἄλλαις λίμ- 
vats: ἐλάττων δὲ καθ᾽ ὕδατος" ὁ μὲν οὖν ἐλαίαγνος 
τοιοῦτον. 

Ἢ δὲ σίδη τὴν “μὲν μορφήν ἐστιν ὁμοία τῇ 
μήκωνι" καὶ γὰρ τὸ ἄνω κυτινῶδες τοιοῦτον ἔχει, 
πλὴν μεῖζον ὡς κατὰ λόγον" μεγέθει δὲ ὅλος ὁ 
ὄγκος ἡλίκον μῆλον" ἔστι δὲ οὐ γυμνόν, ἀλλὰ ὑμένες 
περὶ αὐτὴν λευκοί, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἔξωθεν φύλλα 
ποώδη παραπλήσια τοῖς τῶν ῥόδων ὅταν ἐν 
κάλυξιν Oot, τέτταρα TOV ἀριθμόν' ἀνοιχθεῖσα 
δὲ τοὺς κόκκους ἐρυθροὺς μὲν ἔχει τῷ σχήματι 
δὲ οὐχ ὁμοίους ταῖς poats ἀλλὰ περιφερεῖς μικροὺς 
δὲ καὶ οὐ πολλῷ μείζους κέγχρου" τὸν δὲ χυλὸν 
ὑδατώδη τινά, καθάπερ ὁ ὁ τῶν πυρῶν. ἁδρύνεται 
δὲ τοῦ θέρους, μίσχον δὲ ἔχει μακρόν. τὸ δὲ 
ἄνθος ὅμοιον ῥόδου κάλυκι, μεῖζον δὲ καὶ σχεδὸν 
διπλάσιον τῷ μεγέθει. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν καὶ τὸ 
φύλλον ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος" μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, ὅταν 
ἀπανθήσῃ καὶ συστῇ τὸ περικάρπιον, κατακλίνε- 
σθαί φασιν εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ μᾶλλον, τέλος δὲ συνάπτειν 
τῇ γῇ καὶ τὸν καρπὸν ἐκχεῖν. 

Καρποφορεῖν δὲ τῶν ἐν τῇ λίμνῃ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ 
βούτομον καὶ τὸν φλεών. εἶναι δὲ τοῦ βουτόμου 
μέλανα, τῷ δὲ μεγέθει, παραπλήσιον τῷ τῆς 
σίδης. τοῦ δὲ φλεὼ τὴν καλουμένην ἀνθήλην, 





1 ἐλάττων. .. ὕδατος : sense doubtful. G. seems to render 
a different reading. 

2 7.e. the flower-head, which, as well as the plant, was 
called σίδη. 

3 μήκωνι can hardly be right: suspected by H. 

4 cf. Athen. 14. θά. 

5. ze, petals. 


362 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x. 2-4 


of Egypt, in Thesprotia, and in other lakes). When 
it grows under water, it is smaller.1 Such is the 
goat-willow. 

The water-lily? is in shape like the poppy.? For 
the top of it has this character, being shaped like 
the pomegranate flower,’ but it is longer in propor- 
tion to the size of the plant. Its size in fact as a 
whole is that of an apple; but it is not bare, having 
round it white membranes,°® and attached to these 
on the outside are grass-green ‘leaves,’® like those 
of roses when they are still in bud, and of these 
there are four; when it is opened it shews its seeds, 
which are red; in shape however they are not like 
pomegranate’ seeds, but round small and_ not 
much longer than millet seeds; the taste is insipid, 
like that of wheat-grains. It ripens in summer and 
has a long stalk. The flower is like a rose-bud, 
but larger, almost twice as large. Now this and the 
leaf float on the water; but later, when the bloom is 
over and the fruit-case ὃ has formed, they say that it 
sinks deeper into the water, and finally reaches the 
bottom and sheds its fruit. 

Of the plants of the lake they say that water-lily 
sedge and phieos bear fruit, and that that of the 
sedge is black, and in size like that of the water-lily. 
The fruit of phleos is what is called the ‘plume, " 


6 2,6. sepals. 

7 ῥόαις conj. Bod. from Nic. Ther. 887 and Schol.; ῥίζαις 
UMVAIld. H. 

8 περικάρπιον conj. W.; κατακάρπιον MSS. κατα- probably 
due to κατακλίνεσθαι. 

9 of. Diose. 3. 118. ἀνθήλην, sc. καρπὸν εἶναι, But Sch. 
suggests that further description of the fruit has dropped 
out, and that the clause @... κονίας does not refer to the 
fruit. 


263 


9» 


THEOPHRASTUS 


. lal \ Ν a ᾽ 
ᾧ χρῶνται πρὸς τὰς κονίας. τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶν οἷον 
πλακουντῶδές TL μαλακον ἐπίπυρρον. ἔτι δὲ 
\ a \ \ a) ‘ Ss \ a 
καὶ τοῦ φλεὼ Kal τοῦ βουτόμου To μὲν θῆλυ 
‘ / 
ἄκαρπον, χρήσιμον δὲ πρὸς τὰ πλόκανα, TO δὲ 
ἄρρεν ἀχρεῖον. 
Π \ δὲ a 7 \ 4 θ \ ἮΝ 
ερὶ δὲ τῆς ἴκμης καὶ μηνάνθους καὶ Tod ἴπνου 
σκεπτέον. 
> ͵΄ ᾿ ΄ > \ ς , \ rs 
Ἰδιώτατον δὲ τούτων ἐστὶν ἡ τύφη Kal TO 
ΝΜ ἊΨ a \ / -“ 
ἄφυλλον εἶναι καὶ τῷ μὴ πολύρριζον τοῖς ἄλλοις 
€ > 
ὁμοίως: ἐπεὶ τἄλλα οὐχ ἧττον εἰς τὰ κάτω τὴν 
€ \ \ 
ὁρμὴν ἔχει Kal τὴν δύναμιν: μάλιστα δὲ TO 
> 
κύπειρον, ὥσπερ Kal ἡ ἄγρωστις, Ot ὃ Kal δυσώ- 
lal ο 7 ‘ / \ lal 
λεθρα καὶ ταῦτα Kal ὅλως ἅπαν TO γένος TO τοιοῦ- 
ς Nef a / fi la) yA 
Tov. ἡ δὲ pila τοῦ κυπείρου πολύ TL TOV ἄλλων 
παραλλάττει τῇ ἀνωμαλίᾳ, τῷ τὸ μὲν εἶναι παχύ 
\ a  heade \ \ \ \ = 
TL Kal σαρκῶδες αὐτῆς TO δὲ λεπτὸν Kal ξυλῶδες: 
a re fal , / 
καὶ τῇ βλαστήσει καὶ TH γενέσει" φύεται yap 
a , id \ 
ἀπὸ τοῦ πρεμνώδους ἑτέρα λεπτὴ KATA πλάγιον, 
/ lal 
εἶτ᾽ ἐν ταύτῃ συνίσταται πάλιν TO σαρκῶδες, ἐν ᾧ 
Ν > ’ φ «ς , , 
καὶ ὁ βλαστὸς ἀφ᾽ οὗ ὁ καυλός: ἀφίησι δὲ καὶ 
> f Ν rN ’ Ἐν ὃ ra \ / 
εἰς βάθος τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ῥίζας, δι᾿ ὃ Kal πάντων 
/ / eee > a 
μάλιστα δυσώλεθρον καὶ ἔργον ἐξελεῖν. 
\ x , / ες» 2 
(Σχεδὸν δὲ παραπλησίως φύεται ἡ ἄγρωστις ἐκ 
al \ f 
τῶν γονάτων" αἱ yap ῥίζαι γονατώδεις, ἐξ ἑκά- 
’ > fg ” \ \ / 
στου © ἀφίησιν ἄνω βλαστὸν καὶ κάτωθεν 
cs e id δὲ Ἂ « » θ € > / 
pilav. ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ἡ ἄκανθα ἡ axavedns, 
, \ / 
ἀλλ᾽ οὐ καλαμώδης οὐδὲ γονατώδης ἡ pila ταύ- 





1 κονίας : 2 κονιάσεις (plastering), a conjecture mentioned 
by Sch. 


304 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x. 4-6 


and it is used as a soap-powder.! It is something 
like a cake, soft and reddish. Moreover the ‘ female’ 
plant both of phleos and sedge is barren, but useful 
for basket-work,? while the ‘male’ is useless. 

Duckweed ‘moon-flower’ and marestail require 
further investigation. 

Most peculiar of these plants is the bulrush, both 
in being leafless and in not having so many roots as 
the others; for the others tend downwards quite as 
much as upwards, and shew their strength in that 
direction; and especially is this true of galingale, and 
also of dog’s-tooth grass; wherefore these plants 
too and all others like them are hard to destroy. 
The root of galingale exceeds all the others in the 
diversity of characters which it shews, in that part 
of it is stout and fleshy, part slender and woody. 
So also is this plant peculiar in its way of shooting 
and originating; for from the trunk-like stock ὅ 
grows another slender root* sideways, and on this 
again forms the fleshy part which contains the shoot 
from which the stalk springs.° In like manner it 
also sends out roots downwards; wherefore of all 
plants it is hardest to kill, and troublesome to get 
rid of. 

(Dog’s-tooth grass grows in almost the same way 
from the joints; for the roots are jointed, and from 
each joint it sends a shoot upwards and a root down- 
wards. The growth of the spinous plant called 
corn-thistle® is similar, but it is not reedy and its 

2 of. Hdt. 3. 98. 3 z.e. rhizome. 

4 4.e. stolon; cf. 1. 6. 8. 

5 ἀφ᾽ οὗ ὁ καυλός transposed by W.; in Ald. these words 
come before ἐν 6. 

6 ἡ ἀκανώδης I conj.; κεάνωνος UMV; κεάνωθος Ald.: % 
κεάνωθος most edd.; ἃ omits the word. 


365 


THEOPHRASTUS 


της. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ πλεῖον διὰ THY ὁμοιότητα 
εἴρηται.) 

Φύεται δ᾽ ἐν ἀμφοῖν καὶ ἐν τῇ γῇ καὶ ἐν 
τῷ ὕδατι ἰτέα κάλαμος, πλὴν τοῦ αὐλητικοῦ, 

7 ΄ \ ΄ . \ Aloe 
κύπειρον τύφη φλεὼς βούτομος" ἐν δὲ τῷ ὕδατι 
μόνον σίδη. περὶ γὰρ τῆς τύφης ἀμφισβητοῦσι. 
καλλίω δὲ καὶ μείζω τῶν ἐν ἀμφοῖν φυομένων 
αἰεὶ τὰ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι γίνεσθαί φασι. φύεσθαι δ᾽ 
ἔνια τούτων καὶ ἐπὶ TOV πλοάώδων, οἷον τὸ κύ- 
πειρον καὶ τὸ βούτομον καὶ τὸν φλεών, ὥστε πάντα 
τὰ μέρη ταῦτα κατέχειν. 

᾿Εδώδιμα δ᾽ ἐστὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ λίμνῃ τάδε: ἡ μὲν 
σίδη καὶ αὐτὴ καὶ τὰ φύλλα τοῖς προβάτοις, ὁ 
δὲ βλαστὸς τοῖς ὑσίν, ὁ δὲ καρπὸς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. 
τοῦ δὲ φλεὼ καὶ τῆς τύφης καὶ τοῦ βουτόμου τὸ 
πρὸς ταῖς πὴ ἁπαλόν, ὃ μάλιστα ἐσθίει τὰ 
παιδία. ῥίζα δ᾽ ἐδώδιμος ἡ τοῦ φλεὼ μόνη τοῖς 
βοσκήμασιν. ὅταν δ᾽ αὐχμὸς ἡ καὶ μὴ γένηται 
τὸ κατὰ κεφαλὴν ὕδωρ, ὁ ἅπαντα αὐχμεῖ τὰ ἐν τῇ 
λίμνῃ, μάλιστα δὲ ὁ κάλαμος, ὑπὲρ οὗ καὶ λοιπὸν 
εἰπεῖν: ὑπὲρ γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων σχεδὸν εἴρηται. 

XI. Tod δὴ καλάμου δύο φασὶν εἶναι γένη, τόν 
Te αὐλητικὸν καὶ τὸν ἕτερον" ν γὰρ εἶναι τὸ 
γένος τοῦ ἑτέρου, διαφέρειν δὲ ἀλλήλων ἰσχύϊ 
«καὶ παχύτητι;» καὶ λεπτότητι καὶ ἀσθενείᾳ: 
καλοῦσι δὲ τὸν μὲν ἰσχυρὸν καὶ παχὺν χαρακίαν 
τὸν δ᾽ ἕτερον πλόκιμον: καὶ φύεσθαι τὸν μὲν 





12,6. we have gone beyond the list of typical plants of 
Orchomenus given 4. 10.1, because we have found others of 
which much the same may be said. 

cf. 4. 10. 2. 
3 αὐτὴ : cf. 4. 10, Sn. 


366 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x. 6-x1.1 


root is not jointed. We have enlarged on these 
matters ! because of the resemblance.) 

The willow and the reed (not however the reed 
used for pipes) galingale bulrush phileos sedge 
grow both on land and in the water, water-lily only 
in the water. (As to bulrush indeed there is a 
difference of opinion.) However they say that those 
plants which grow in the water are always finer and 
larger than those that grow in both positions; also 
that some of these plants grow also on the floating 
islands,’ for instance galingale sedge and _ phleos ; 
thus all parts of the lake contain these plants. 

Of the plants of the lake the parts good for food 
are as follows: of the water-lily both the flower? and 
the leaves are good for sheep, the young shoots for 
pigs, and the fruit for men. Of phleos galingale 
and sedge the part next the roots is tender, and is 
mostly eaten by children. The root of phleos is the 
only part which is edible by cattle. When there is 
a drought and there is no water from overhead,‘ all 
the plants of the lake are dried up, but especially 
the reed; of this it remains to speak, since we have 
said almost enough about the rest. 

XI. 5 Of the reed there are said to be two kinds, 
the one used for making pipes and the other kind. 
For that of the latter there is only one kind, though 
individual plants differ in being strong and stout,° or 
on the other hand slender and weak. ‘The strong 
stout one they call the ‘stake-reed, the other the 
‘weaving reed.’ The latter they say grows on the 


4 κεφαλὴν UMVAId.; for the case cf. Xen. Hell. 7. 2. 8 
and 11 ; κεφαλῆς conj. W. 

δ᾽ Plin. 16. 168 and 169. 

6 καὶ παχύτητι add. Dalec. from (ὦ, 


367 


to 


THEOPHRASTUS 


πλόκιμον ἐπὶ τῶν πλοάδων τὸν δὲ χαρακίαν ἐπὶ 
τοῖς κώμυσι' κώμυθας δὲ καλοῦσι οὗ ἂν ἡ συν- 
ηθροισμένος κάλαμος καὶ συμπεπλεγμένος, ταῖς 
ῥίξαις: τοῦτο δὲ γίνεται καθ᾽ ods ἂν τόπους 
τῆς λιμνης εὔγειον ἢ χωρίον: γίνεσθαι δέ ποτε 
τὸν χαρακίαν καὶ οὗ ὁ αὐλητικός, μακρότερον 
μὲν τοῦ ἄλλου χαρακίου σκωληκόβρωτον δέ. 
τούτου μὲν οὖν ταύτας λέγουσι τὰς διαφοράς. 
Περὶ δὲ τοῦ αὐλητικοῦ τὸ μὲν φύεσθαι δι᾽ ἐν- 
νεατηρίδος, ὥσπερ τινές φασι, καὶ ταύτην εἶναι 
τὴν τάξιν οὐκ ἀληθές, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν ὅλον αὐξη.- 
θείσης γίνεται τῆς λίμνης" ὅτι δὲ τοῦτ᾽ ἐδόκει 
συμβαίνειν ἐν τοῖς πρότερον χρόνοις μάλιστα δι᾽ 
ἐννεατηρίδος, καὶ τὴν γένεσιν τοῦ καλάμου ταύ- 
τὴν ἐποίουν τὸ συμβεβηκὸς ὡς τάξιν λαμβάνον- 
τες. γίνεται δὲ ὅταν ἐπομβρίας γενομένης ἐμμένῃ 
τὸ ὕδωρ δύ᾽ ἔτη τοὐλάχιστον, ἂν δὲ πλείω καὶ 
καλλίων: τούτου δὲ μάλιστα μνημονεύουσι γεγον- 
oTos τῶν ὕστερον χρόνων ὅτε συνέβη τὰ περὶ 
Χαιρώνειαν: πρὸ τούτων γὰρ ἔφασαν ἔτη πλείω 
βαθυνθῆναι τὴν λίμνην: μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ὕστερον, 
ὡς ὁ λοιμὸς ἐγένετο σφοδρός, πλησθῆναι μὲν 
αὐτήν, οὐ μείναντος δὲ τοῦ ὕδατος ἀλλ᾽ ἐκλιπόν- 
τος χειμῶνος οὐ γενέσθαι τὸν κάλαμον' φασὶ γὰρ 
καὶ δοκεῖ βαθυνομένης τῆς λίμνης αὐξάνεσθαι 
τὸν κάλαμον εἰς μῆκος, μείναντα δὲ τὸν ἐπιόντα 
ἐνιαυτὸν ἁδρύνεσθαι" καὶ γίνεσθαι τὸν μὲν ἁδρυ- 
θέντα ζευγίτην, ᾧ & ἂν μὴ συμπαραμείνῃ τὸ 





1 κώμυσι: lit “ bundles.’ 
2 δυ᾽ ἔτη conj. W.; διετῆ UM VAI. 
SRO. San: 


368 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x1. 1-3 


floating islands, the stout form in the ‘ reed-beds’!; 
this name they give to the places where there is a 
thick mass of reed with its roots entangled together. 
This occurs in any part of the lake where there is 
rich soil. It is said that the ‘stake-reed’ is also 
sometimes found in the same places as the reed used 
for pipes, in which places it is longer than the ‘stake- 
reed’ found elsewhere, but gets worm-eaten. These 
then are the differences in reeds of which they tell. 
As to the reed used for pipes, it is not true, as some 
say, that it only grows once in nine years and that 
this is its regular rule of growth; it grows in general 
whenever the lake is full: but, because in former 
days this was supposed to happen generally once in 
nine years, they made the growth of the reed to 
correspond, taking what was really an accident to be 
a regular principle. As a matter of fact it grows 
whenever after a rainy season the water remains in 
the lake for at least two years,? and it is finer if the 
water remains longer; this is specially remembered 
to have happened in recent times at the time of the 
battle of Chaeronea. For before that period they 
told me that the lake was for several years deep; 
and, at a time later than that, when there was a 
severe visitation of the plague, it filled up; but, as 
the water did not remain but failed in winter, the 
reed did not grow; for they say, apparently with 
good reason, that, when the lake is deep, the reed 
increases in height, and, persisting for the next year, 
matures its growth; and that the reed which thus 
inatures is suitable for making a reed mouthpiece,° 
while that for which the water has not remained is 
4 ἔτη πλείω conj. Scal. from G ; ἔτι πλείω UMYV; ἔτι πλεῖον 


Ald. 
δ See n. on τὸ στόμα τῶν γλωττῶν, § 4, 


369 


THEOPHRASTUS 


“ / \ \ 9S / “| 
ὕδωρ βομβυκίαν. τὴν μὲν οὖν γένεσιν εἶναι 
τοιαύτην. 
a to 
Διαφέρειν δὲ τῶν ἄλλων καλάμων ὡς καθ᾽ ὅλου 
a > / \ an ΄ ᾽ hf 
λαβεῖν εὐτροφίᾳ τινὶ τῆς φύσεως: εὐπληθέστερον 
\ LJ \ > / \ “ \ lal a 
yap εἶναι Kal εὐσαρκότερον καὶ ὅλως δὲ θῆλυν TH 
/ \ / 
προσόψει. καὶ yap TO φύλλον πλατύτερον ἔχειν 
\ Ls \ \ ’ / ᾽ / a 
καὶ λευκότερον τὴν δὲ ἀνθήλην ἐλάττω τῶν 
bY \ Ny (αν > 7 ἃ νὴ 
ἄλλων, τινὰς δὲ ὅλως οὐκ ἔχειν, OVS καὶ προσ- 
αγορεύουσιν εὐνουχίας" ἐξ ὧν ἄριστα μέν φασί 
“ \ / n \ ? 7 
τινες γίνεσθαι τὰ ζεύγη, κατορθοῦν δὲ ὀλίγα 
\ , 
παρὰ τὴν ἐργασίαν. 
\ \ \ e / Ὁ Ν > / 
Τὴν δὲ τομὴν ὡραίαν εἶναι πρὸ ᾿Αντιγενίδου 
/ 4 (one } A > / Ὁ bis 
μέν, ἡνίκ᾽ NUAOVY ἀπλάστως, UT ApKToUpoVv Bon- 
an , Ν nan 
δρομιῶνος μηνός" τὸν yap οὕτω τμηθέντα συχνοῖς 
¢ fe 
μὲν ἔτεσιν ὕστερον γίνεσθαι χρήσιμον Kal προ- 
fe lal n Δ AN \ 
καταυλήσεως δεῖσθαι πολλῆς, συμμύειν δὲ TO 
a a ὃ Ν \ 
στόμα TOV γλωττῶν, ὃ πρὸς τὴν διακτηρίαν εἶναι 
\ 
χρήσιμον. ἐπεὶ δὲ εἰς τὴν πλάσιν μετέβησαν, Kal 
i? / Ν -“ rn 
ἡ τομὴ μετεκινήθη: τέμνουσι yap δὴ νῦν TOD 
“ ERA < lal / 
Σκιρροφοριῶνος καὶ “ExatouBarwvos ὥσπερ πρὸ 
an \ > \ ’ / 
τροπῶν μικρὸν ἢ ὑπὸ τροπάς. γίνεσθαι δέ φασι 
/ V4 
τρίενόν TE χρήσιμον καὶ καταυλήσεως βραχείας 


1 βομβυκίαν. In one kind of pipe the performer blew, not 
directly on to the ‘reed,’ but into a cap in which it was 
enclosed; this cap, from the resemblance in shape to a 
cocoon, was called βόμβυξ. 

2 εἶναι add. W. 

3 Plin. 16. 169-172. 4 September. 

5 i.e. between the free end of the vibrating ‘tongue’ and 


379 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x1. 3-5 


suitable for making a ‘cap.’! Such then, it is said, 
is ? the reed’s way of growth. 

? Also it is said to differ from other reeds, to speak 
generally, in a certain luxuriance of growth, being of 
a fuller and more fleshy character, and, one may say, 
‘female’ in appearance. For it is said that even the 
leaf is broader and whiter, though the plume is 
smaller than that of other reeds, and some have no 
plume at all; these they call ‘ eunuch-reeds.’ From 
these they say that the best mouthpieces are made, 
though many are spoiled in the making. 

Till the time of Antigenidas, before which men 
played the pipe in the simple style, they say that 
the proper season for cutting the reeds was the 
month Boédromion * about the rising of Arcturus ; 
for, although the reed so cut did not become fit for 
use for many years after and needed a great deal of 
preliminary playing upon, yet the opening ® of the 
reed-tongues is well closed, which isa good thing for 
the purpose of accompaniment.® But when a change 
was made to the more elaborate style of playing, the 
time of cutting the reeds was also altered; for in 
our own time they cut them in the months Skirro- 
phorion’ or Hekatombaion ὃ about the solstice ora 
little earlier.2 And they say that the reed becomes 
fit for use in three years and needs but little 
preliminary playing upon, and that the reed-tongues 


the bedy or ‘lay’ of the reed mouthpiece: the instrument 
implied throughout is apparently one with a single vibrating 
‘tongue’ (reed) like the modern clarinet. 

ὁ διακτηρίαν UMV; διακτορίαν Ald. πρὸς τὸ ἀκροατήριον, 
‘for the concert-room’; quod erat tllis theatrorum moribus 
utilius Plin. d.c. 

7 June. 8 July. 

% ὥσπερ con). W.; ὡσπερεὶ UH.; ὡς περὶ MVAId. 


371 


THEOPHRASTUS 


nr \ , 
δεῖσθαι Kal κατασπάσματα τὰς γλώττας ἴσχειν" 
a lal a \ 
τοῦτο δὲ ἀναγκαῖον τοῖς μετὰ πλάσματος αὐ- 
fal na ’ ΜΡ 
λοῦσι. τοῦ μὲν οὖν ζευγίτου ταύτας εἶναι τὰς 
“ a an 
ὥρας τῆς τομῆς. 
«ς ΟΝ / (6 a \ ’ « 
Η δ᾽ ἐργασία γίνεται τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον' ὅταν 
/ / € / a an ᾽ 
συλλέξωσι τιθέασιν ὑπαίθριον τοῦ χειμῶνος ἐν 
a he a > > / \ 
TO λέμματι' τοῦ δ᾽ ἦρος περικαθάραντες καὶ 
, ὔ ᾽ \ / » a / \ 
ἐκτρίψαντες εἰς TOV ἥλιον ἔθεσαν. τοῦ θέρους δὲ 
lal , \ 
μετὰ ταῦτα συντεμόντες εἰς TA μεσογονάτια πάλιν 
“ ta / 
ὑπαίθριον τιθέασι χρόνον τινά. προσλείπουσι 
Η͂ a , \ \ \ \ , 
δὲ τῴ μεσογονατίῳ τὸ πρὸς τοὺς βλαστοὺς γόνυ 
\ J / > /, 
τὰ δὲ μήκη TA τούτων οὐ γίνεται διπαλαίστων 
\ 3 a 
ἐλάττω. βέλτιστα μὲν οὖν εἶναι τῶν μεσογονα- 
\ oh ty a 
τίων πρὸς τὴν ζευγοποιΐαν ὅλου τοῦ καλάμου τὰ 
re 
μέσα: μαλακώτατα δὲ ἴσχειν ζεύγη τὰ πρὸς τοὺς 
N \ na 7ὔ 
βλαστούς, σκληρότατα δὲ τὰ πρὸς τῇ ῥίζῃ" συμ- 
φωνεῖν δὲ τὰς γλώττας τὰς ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μεσογο- 
’ \ \ ” > al \ ‘ \ 
vatiov, Tas δὲ ἄλλας οὐ συμφωνεῖν: Kal THY μὲν 
An \ 7 \ 
πρὸς τῇ pln ἀριστερὰν εἶναι, τὴν δὲ πρὸς τοὺς 
\ / / \ / n 
βλαστοὺς δεξιάν. τμηθέντος δὲ δίχα τοῦ μεσο- 
Ν ’ an / / / 
γονατίου TO στόμα τῆς γλώττης ἑκατέρας yive- 
\ \ a“ ΄, 7 5. δὲ ” 
σθαι κατὰ THY τοῦ καλάμου τομὴν' ἐὰν δὲ ἄλλον 
τρόπον ἐργασθῶσιν αἱ γλῶτται, ταύτας οὐ πάνυ 
a > , 
συμφωνεῖν' ἡ μὲν οὖν ἐργασία τοιαύτη. 





1 κατασπᾶσματα : lit. ‘convulsions’; 1.6. the strong vibra- 
tions of a ‘tongue,’ the free end of which is kept away from 
the body or ‘lay’ of the mouthpiece. Such a ‘reed’ would 
have the effect of giving to the pipes a fuller and louder tone. 

2 7.e. so as to make a closed end. 


372 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xr. 5-7 


have ample vibration,! which is essential for those 
who play in the elaborate style. Such, they tell us, 
are the proper seasons for cutting the reed used for 
the reed moathpiece. 

The manufacture is carried out in the following 
manner. Having collected the reed-stems they lay 
them in the open air during the winter, leaving on 
the rind; in the spring they strip this off, and, 
having rubbed the reeds thoroughly, put them in 
the sun. Later on, in the summer, they cut the 
sections from knot to knot into lengths and again 
put them for some time in the open air. They 
leave the upper knot on this internodal section ?; 
and the lengths thus obtained are not less than two 
palmsbreadths long. Now they say that for making 
mouthpieces the best lengths are those of the middle 
of the reed, whereas the lengths towards the upper 
growths make very soft mouthpieces and those next 
to the root very hard ones. They say too that the 
reed-tongues made out of the same length are of the 
same quality, while those made from different lengths 
are not; also that the one from the length next to 
the root forms a left-hand? reed-tongue, and that 
from the length towards the upper growths a right- 
hand? reed-tongue. Moreover, when the length is 
slit, the opening of the reed-tongues in either case 
is made towards the point at which the reed was 
cut‘; and, if the reed-tongues are made in any other 
manner, they are not quite of the same quality. Such 
then is the method of manufacture. 

3.26. the vibrating ‘tongues’ (reeds) for the left-hand 
and the right-hand pipe of the Double Pipe respectively. 

42,6. not at the closed end, but at the end which was 


‘lower’ when the cane was growing: cf. §6, προσλείπουσι δὲ 
& ρ 
κ.τ.λ. 


313 


8 


10 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Φύεται δὲ πλεῖστος μὲν μεταξὺ τοῦ Κηφισοῦ 
καὶ τοῦ Μέλανος: οὗτος δὲ ὁ τόπος προσαγο- 
ρεύεται μὲν Πελεκανία: τούτου δ᾽ ἔστιν ἄττα 
ray x Vs / fal 7 > a 
Χύτροι καλούμενοι βαθύσματα τῆς λίμνης, ἐν ols 
κάλλιστόν φασι γίνεσθαι" «γίνεσθαι: δὲ καὶ καθ᾽ 
ἃ ς / / / “ ’ 
ὃ ἡ Προβατία καλουμένη καταφέρεται" τοῦτο ὃ 
? \ \ cs > , / \ 
ἐστὶ ποταμὸς ῥέων ἐκ Λεβαδείας. κάλλιστος δὲ 

a > an 

δοκεῖ πάντων γίνεσθαι περὶ τὴν ᾿Οξεῖαν καλου- 
/ / ς \ / Φ tf > ᾿] \ 
μένην Καμπήν' ὁ δὲ τόπος οὗτός ἐστιν ἐμβολὴ 

a nA “ fal / » 
τοῦ Κηφισοῦ. γειτνιᾷ δ᾽ αὐτῷ πεδίον εὔγειον, ὃ 
προσαγορεύουσι Ἱππίαν. πρόσβορρος δὲ τόπος 
” a ’ / a a ’ ἃ a 
ἄλλος τῆς Oketas Καμπῆς ἐστιν, ὃν καλοῦσι 
Βοηδρίαν: φύεσθαι δέ φασι καὶ κατὰ ταύτην 
᾽ an \ / \ Nu fe or OK δ / 
εὐγενῆ τὸν κάλαμον. TO δὲ ὅλον, οὗ av ἡ βαθύ- 
γείον καὶ εὔγειον χωρίον καὶ ἰλυῶδες καὶ ὁ 
Κηφισὸς ἀναμίσγεται καὶ πρὸς τούτοις βάθυσμα 
τῆς λίμνης, κάλλιστον γίνεσθαι κάλαμον. περὶ 
γὰρ τὴν ᾿Ὀξεῖαν Καμπὴν καὶ τὴν Βοηδρίαν πάντα 
ταῦτα ὑπάρχειν. ὅτι δὲ ὁ Κηφισὸς μεγάλην ἔχει 
ῥοπὴν εἰς τὸ ποιεῖν καλὸν τὸν κάλαμον σημεῖον 
ἔχουσι" καθ᾽ ὃν γὰρ τόπον ὁ Μέλας καλούμενος 
ἐμβάλλει βαθείας οὔσης τῆς λίμνης καὶ τοῦ 
ἐδάφους εὐγείου καὶ ἰλυώδους, ἢ ὅλως μὴ γίνεσθαι 

φαῦλον. ἡ μὲν οὖν γένεσις καὶ φύσις τοῦ 
αὐλητικοῦ καὶ ἡ κατεργασία καὶ τίνας ἔχει δια- 
φορὰς πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους ἱκανῶς εἰρήσθω. 

Γένη δὲ οὐ ταῦτα μόνον ἀλλὰ πλείω τοῦ καλά- 
μου τυγχάνει φανερὰς ἔχοντα τῇ αἰσθήσει δια- 

\ 


φοράς: ὁ μὲν yap πυκνὸς Kal TH σαρκὶ καὶ τοῖς 


1 of. Plut. Sulla, 20. 
2 2,6. the so-called ‘ Lake ’ Copais. 
3 καὶ add. W. 


374 





ENQUIRY INTO: PLANTS, IV. xr. ὃ τὸ 


This reed grows in greatest abundance between 
the Kephisos and the Black River!; this district is 
called Pelekania, and in it are certain ‘ pots,’ as they 
are called, which are deep holes in the marsh,? and 
in these holes they say that it grows fairest ; it is also 3 
said to be found 4 where the river called the ‘Sheep 
River’ comes down, which is a stream that flows from 
Lebadeia. But it appears to grow fairest of all near 
‘the Sharp Bend’; this place is the mouth of the 
Kephisos ; near it is a rich plain called Hippias. 
There is another region north of the Sharp Bend 
called Boedrias ; and here too they say that the reed 
grows fine, and in general that it is fairest wherever 
there is a piece of land with deep rich alluvial soil, 
where also Kephisos mingles® his waters with the 
soil, and where there is further a deep hole in the 
marsh ; for that about the Sharp Bend and Boedrias 
all these conditions are found. As proof that the 
Kephisos has a great effect in producing the reed of 
good quality they have the fact that, where the river 
called the ‘ Black River’ flows into the marsh, though 
the marsh is there deep and the bottom of good 
alluvial soil, it either does not grow at all or at best 
but of poor quality. Let this suffice for an account 
of the growth and character of the reed used for 
pipes, of the manufacture, and of its distinctive 
features as compared with other reeds. 

But these are not the only kinds of reed ; there are 
several others ἡ with distinctive characters which are 
easily recognised; there is one that is of compact 
growth in flesh and has its joints close together ; 

4 γίνεσθαι add. Sch.; φασι: γίνεσθαι δὲ καθ᾽ ὃ UMVP; so 
Ald., but καθ᾽ ὃν. 


5 ἀναμίσγεται : ? ἀναμίσγηται ; cf. Plut. Sull. lc. 
6 Plin. 16. 164-167 ; Diosce. 1. 85. 


375 


11 


12 


THEOPHRASTUS 


4 « \ \ \ ? ld ae \ 
γόνασιν, ὁ δὲ μανὸς Kal ὀλιγογόνατος" καὶ ὁ Mer’ 
a a / \ e 
κοῖλος, ὃν καλοῦσί τινες συρυγγίαν, οὐδὲν γὰρ ὡς 
εἰπεῖν ἔχει ξύλου καὶ σαρκός: ὁ δὲ στερεὸς καὶ 

al e ς 
συμπλήρης μικροῦ. καὶ ὁ μὲν βραχύς, ὁ δὲ 
> \ bagi = \ \ 4 ς \ \ \ 
εὐαυξὴς Kal ὑψηλὸς Kal παχύς. ὁ δὲ λεπτὸς καὶ 
/ 
πολύφυλλος, ὁ δὲ ὀλιγόφυλλος Kal μονόφυλλος. 
ὅλως δὲ πολλαί τινές εἰσι διαφοραὶ κατὰ τὰς 
X 
χρείας" ἕκαστος yap πρὸς ἕκαστα χρήσιμος. 
Ὀνόμασι δὲ ἄλλοι ἄλλοις προσαγορεύουσι: 
/ / ig / Δ \ / , 
κοινότατον 6€ Tws ὁ Sovak, ὃν καὶ λοχμωδέστατόν 
/ 5 \ / ’, \ Ν 
γέ φασιν εἶναι καὶ μάλιστα φύεσθαι παρὰ τοὺς 
\ \ \ / / 2 “ 
ποταμοὺς καὶ τὰς λίμνας. διαφέρειν δ᾽ ὅμως 
/ a an 
παντὸς καλάμου TOAD τόν τε ἐν TO ξηρῷ καὶ Tov 
> a “ / yy \ \ id ’ ἃ 
ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι φυόμενον. ἴδιος δὲ καὶ ὁ τοξικός, ὃν 
δὴ Κρητικόν τινες καλοῦσιν: ὀλυγογόνατος μὲν 
/ \ 4 \ / 7 
σαρκωδέστερος δὲ πάντων καὶ μάλιστα κάμψιν 
δεχόμενος, και ὅλως ἄγεσθαι δυνάμενος ὡς ἂν 
θέλῃ τις θερμαινόμενος. 
/ \ 
Ἔχουσι δέ, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, καὶ κατὰ τὰ φύλλα 
jd A > ΄ \ / , 
μεγάλας διαφορὰς οὐ πλήθει καὶ μεγέθει μόνον 
᾽ \ \ a , \ € \ 
ἀλλὰ Kal χροιᾷ. ποικίλος yap ὁ Λακωνικὸς 
/ ” δὲ a θέ \ / 
καλούμενος. ἔτι ὃὲ TH θέσει Kal προσφύσει'" 
κάτωθεν γὰρ ἔνιοι πλεῖστα φέρουσι τῶν φύλλων, 
> \ \ “ > / LA \ 7 
αὐτὸς δὲ ὥσπερ ἐκ θάμνου πέφυκε. σχεδὸν δέ 
τινές φασι καὶ τῶν λιμναίων ταύτην εἶναι τὴν 
/ 
διαφοράν, TO πολύφυλλον Kal παρόμοιον ἔχειν 
΄ a lal 
TpoTov τινὰ TO φύλλον τῷ τοῦ κυπείρου καὶ 


376 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x1. 10-12 


another that is of open growth, with few joints; 
there is the hollow reed called by some the ‘tube- 
reed, } inasmuch as it has hardly any wood or 
flesh; there is another which is solid and almost 
entirely filled with substance ; there is another which 
is short, and another which is of strong growth tall 
and stout; there is one which is slender and has 
many leaves, another which has few leaves or only 
one. And in general there are many differences in 
natural character and in usefulness, each kind being 
useful for some particular purpose. 

Some distinguish the various kinds by different 
names ; commonest perhaps is the pole-reed, which is 
said to be of very bushy habit, and to grow chiefly 
by rivers and lakes. And it is said that there is a 
wide difference in reeds in general between those 
that grow on dry land and those that grow in the 
water. Quite distinct again is the ‘archer’s’ reed, 
which some call the ‘Cretan’: this has few joints 
and is fleshier than any of the others; it can also be 
most freely bent, and in general, when warmed, may 
be turned about as one pleases. 

The various kinds have also, as was said, great 
differences in the leaves, not only in number and 
size, but also in colour. That called the ‘ Laconian’ 
reed is parti-coloured. They also differ in the 
position and attachment of the leaves; some have 
most of their leaves low down, and the reed itself 
grows out of a sort of a bush. Indeed some say that 
this may be taken as the distinctive character of 
those which grow in lakes, namely, that these 
have many leaves, and that their foliage in a manner 


1 συριγγίαν conj. Sch. from Plin. l.c., syringiam ; ef. Diosc. 
ἰ.6., Geop. 2. 6. 23. συριγί U; σύριγγι MV; σύριγγα Ald. H. 


377 


13 


THEOPHRASTUS 


φλεὼ καὶ Opvov καὶ βουτόμου' σκέψασθαι δὲ 
δεῖ τοῦτο. 
/ 
Γένος δέ τι καλάμου φύεται καὶ ἐπίγειον, ὃ οὐκ 
> ’ \ τ > 3, \ fol 2! / \ / “ 
εἰς ὀρθὸν ἀλλ ἐπὶ γῆς ἀφίησι τὸν καυλόν, ὥσπερ 
¢ a \ 
ἡ ἄγρωστις, Kal οὕτως ποιεῖται τὴν αὔξησιν. 
, / - 
ἔστι δὲ ὁ μὲν ἄρρην στερεός, καλεῖται δὲ ὑπό 
τινων εἰλετίας. ... 
, n 
ὋὉ δὲ Ἰνδικὸς ἐν μεγίστῃ διαφορᾷ καὶ ὥσπερ 
¢ \ . 
ἕτερον ὅλως τὸ γένος" ἔστι δὲ ὁ μὲν ἄρρην στερεός, 
ὁ δὲ θῆλυς κοῖλος" διαιροῦσι γὰρ καὶ τοῦτον τῷ 
A \ / f > ’ ΒΩ By / 
ἄρρενι καὶ θήλει. φύονται δ᾽ ἐξ ἑνὸς πυθμένος 
\ 
πολλοὶ Kal οὐ λοχμώδεις" TO δὲ φύλλον οὐ μακ- 
\ > >} Ὡ “ 3 r \ ,ὔ / 
pov ἀλλ᾽ ὅμοιον τῇ ἐτεᾳ' τῷ δὲ μεγέθει μεγάλοι 
ral lA / a 
Kal εὐπαγεῖς, ὥστε ἀκοντίοις χρῆσθαι. φύονται 
> / / ¢ 
δὲ οὗτοι περὶ τὸν ᾿Ακεσίνην ποταμόν. ἅπας δὲ 
» / 
κάλαμος εὔζωος Kal τεμνόμενος Kal ἐπικαιόμενος 
/ 
καλλίων βλαστάνει" ἔτι δὲ παχύρριζος Kal πο- 
ὃ / 
λύρριζος, δι’ ὃ Kal δυσώλεθρος. ἡ δὲ ῥίζα yova- 
a / 
TWONS, ὥσπερ ἡ τῆς ἀγρωστίδος, πλὴν οὐ παντὸς 
« if > \ \ \ /, 8 “ >’ / 
ὁμοίως. ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν καλάμων ἱκανῶς εἰρήσθω. 
a Ἀ A 
XII. Κατάλοιπον δὲ εἰπεῖν ὡσὰν ἐκ τοῦ γένους 
/, \ “ lal 
τούτου περὶ σχοίνου: καὶ γὰρ Kal τοῦτο τῶν 
eed , ” \ 5, a / "» ΄ 
ἐνύδρων θετέον. ἔστι δὲ αὐτοῦ τρία εἴδη, καθάπερ 
“- > A 
τινὲς διαιροῦσιν, 6 τε ὀξὺς Kal ἄκαρπος, ὃν δὴ 
a AS ἃ 
καλοῦσιν ἄρρενα, καὶ ὁ κάρπιμος, ὃν μελαγκρανὶν 





1 θρύον, a kind of grass (see Index; cf. Hom. Jl. 21. 351), 
conj. Sch.; βρύον MSS. ; however Plut. Nat. Quaest. 2 gives 
βρύον along with τύφη and φλεώς in a list of marsh plants. 

2 δὲ δεῖ τοῦτο conj. W.; δὲ τοῦτο UM V Ald. 


378 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. x1. 12-xu. 1 


resembles that of galingale phleos thryon} and sedge ; 
but this needs? further enquiry. 

There is also a kind of reed (bush-grass) which 
grows on land, and which is not erect, but sends out 
its stem over the ground, like the dog’s-tooth grass, 
and so makes its growth. The ‘male’ reed is solid: 
some, call it ezletias. .. <.. ᾿ 

The Indian reed (bamboo) is very distinct, and 
as it were a totally different kind; the ‘male’ is 
solid and the ‘female’ hollow (for in this kind too 
they distinguish a ‘male’ and a ‘female’ form); a 
number of reeds of this kind grow from one base and 
they do not form a bush; the leaf is not long, but 
resembles the willow leaf; these reeds are of great 
size and of good substance, so that they are used for 
javelins. They grow by the river Akesines.* All 
reeds are tenacious of life, and, if cut or burnt down, 
grow up again more vigorously; also their roots are 
stout and numerous, so that the plant is hard to 
destroy. The root is jointed, like that of the dog’s- 
tooth grass, but this is not equally so in all kinds. 
However let this suffice for an account of reeds. 


Of rushes. 


XII. It remains to speak of the rush,°® as though 
it belonged to this class of plants, inasmuch as we 
must reckon this also among water plants. Of this 
there are three kinds® as some distinguish, the 
‘sharp’ rush, which is barren and is called the 
‘male’; the ‘fruiting’ kind which we call the “ black- 


3 Sch. marks a lacuna; there is nothing to correspond to 
ὁ Hey ale 4 Chenab. 
ΕΠ la suis Εἰ ΦῚ- LISS Diose. ἤν δῶν 
ω Bee Index, 


379 


THEOPHRASTUS 


καλοῦμεν διὰ TO μέλανα τὸν καρπὸν ἔχειν, παχύ- 
τερος δὲ οὗτος καὶ σαρκωδέστερος' καὶ τρίτος τῷ 
μεγέθει καὶ τῇ παχύτητι καὶ εὐσαρκίᾳ διαφέρων 
ὁ καλούμενος ὁλόσχοινος. 

Ἡ μὲν οὖν μελαγκρανὶς αὐτός τις καθ᾽ αὑτόν" ὁ 

᾿ ὀξὺς καὶ ὁλόσχοινος ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ φύονται" ὃ 
καὶ ἄτοπον φαίνεται, καὶ θαυμαστόν γ᾽ ἣν ἰδεῖν 
ὅλης κομισθείσης τῆς σχοινιᾶς: οἱ πολλοὶ γὰρ 
ἦσαν ἄκαρποι πεφυκότες ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ, κάρπιμοι 
δὲ ὀλίγοι. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἐπίσκεπτέον. ἐλάτ- 
τους δὲ ὅλως οἱ -κάρπιμοι: πρὸς γὰρ τὰ πλέγματα 
χρησιμώτερος ὁ ὁλόσχοινος διὰ τὸ σαρκῶδες καὶ 
μαλακόν. κορυνᾷ δ᾽ ὅλως ὁ κάρπιεμος ἐξ αὐτοῦ 
τοῦ ραμμώδους ἐξοιδήσας, κἄπειτα ἐκτίκτει 
καθάπερ ὠά. πρὸς μιᾷ γὰρ ἀρχῇ γραμμώδει 
ἔχει τοὺς περισταχυώδεις μίσχους, ἐφ᾽ ὧν ἄκρων 
παραπλαγίους τὰς τῶν ἀγγείων ἔχει στρογγυλό- 
τητας ὑποχασκούσας: ἐν τούτοις δὲ τὸ σπερμά- 
τίον ἀκιδῶδές ἐστι μέλαν ἑκάστῳ προσεμφερὲς 
τῷ τοῦ ἀστερίσκου πλὴν ἀμενηνότερον. ῥίξαν δὲ 
ἔχει μακρὰν καὶ παχυτέραν πολὺ τοῦ σχοίνου' 
αὕτη δ᾽ αὐαίνεται καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτόν, εἶθ᾽ 
ἑτέρα πάλιν ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ σχοίνου καθίε- 
ται" τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ ὄψει φανερὸν ἰδεῖν τὰς 
μὲν αὔας τὰς δὲ χλωρὰς καθιεμένας" ἡ δὲ κεφαλὴ 
ὁμοία τῇ τῶν κρομύων καὶ τῇ τῶν γητείων, συμ- 





1 9, γ᾽ ἣν ἰδεῖν conj. W. from G; θ. ἐν γ᾽ εἱδεῖν Ὁ ; 9. ἔν γε 
ἰδεῖν MVP; 9. ἐνιδεῖν Ald. 

2 οἱ κάρπιμοι conj. R. Const.; οἱ καρποί Ald. Η, 

3 yap seems meaningless ; G has autem. 

4 xopovg ; α΄. 3. 5. 1. 

5 γραμμώδει conj. R, Const.; γραμμώδεις Ald. H. 


380 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xu. 1-3 


head’ because it has black fruit; this is stouter and 
fleshier: and third the ‘entire rush,’ as it is called, 
which is distinguished by its size stoutness and 
fleshiness. 

Now the ‘black-head’ grows by itself, but the 
‘sharp’ rush and the ‘entire’ rush grow from the 
same stock, which seems extraordinary, and indeed 
it was strange to see it! when the whole clump of 
rushes was brought before me; for from the same 
stock there were growing ‘barren’ rushes, which 
were the most numerous, and also a few ‘fruiting’ 
ones. This then is a matter for further enquiry. 
The ‘fruiting’ 2 ones are in general scarcer, for® the 
‘entire rush’ is more useful for wicker-work because 
of its fleshiness and pliancy. The ‘fruiting’ rush in 
general produces a club-like* head which swells 
straight from the wiry stem, and then bears egg-like 
bodies ; for attached to a single wiry ὅ base it has its 
very spike-like® branches all round it, and on the 
ends of these it has its round vessels borne laterally 
and gaping’; in each of these is the small seed, 
which is pointed and black, and like that of the 
Michaelmas daisy, except that it is less solid. It 
has a long root, which is stouter than that of the 
ordinary rush; this withers every year, and then 
another strikes down again from the ‘head’® of the 
plant. And it is easy to observe that some of the 
roots as they are let down are withered, some green. 
The ‘head’ is like that of an onion or long onion, 


6 περισταχυώδεις seems an impossible word ; ? περὶ αὑτὸν 
τοὺς σταχυώδεις-. 

7 ὑποχασκούσας conj. Sch.; ἐπισχαζούσας Ald. H. 

8 7.e. the part above ground; cf. Plin./.c. Sch. has dis- 
posed of the idea that κεφαλή is here a ‘ bulbous’ root. 


381 


THEOPHRASTUS 


war 9 / 3 > Ἂς x lal 
πεφυκυῖα πως εκ πλειόνων ELS TAUTO καὶ πλατεῖα 
/ ” , ς / / ’ 
κάτωθεν ἔχουσα κελύφη ὑπέρυθρα. συμβαίνει ὃ 
» an lal ͵7] 
οὗν ἴδιον ἐπὶ τῶν ῥιζῶν εἰ αὐαίνονται κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν 
lal i / a 
καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἄνωθεν πάλιν ἡ γένεσις. τῶν μὲν 
= / - / 
οὖν σχοίνων τοιαύτη TLS φύσις. 
Sie ς , , 
Ei δὲ καὶ ὁ βάτος καὶ ὁ παλίουρος ἔνυδρά πώς 
/ a 
ἐστιν ἢ πάρυδρα, καθάπερ ἐνιαχοῦ, φανεραὶ oxe- 
/ / a 
Sov καὶ at τούτων διαφοραί: περὶ ἀμφοῖν yap 
, 
εἴρηται πρότερον. 
an ral / lal na 
Τῶν δὲ νήσων τῶν πλοάδων τῶν ἐν ᾿᾽Οργομενῷ 
͵ , μενᾷ 
\ / Ἂς \ > 
Ta μὲν μεγέθη παντοδαπὰ τυγχάνει, τὰ δὲ pé- 
an “ lal / 
yloTa αὐτῶν ἐστιν ὅσον τριῶν σταδίων τὴν περί- 
’ > / \ / / , 
μετρον. ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ δὲ μάλιστα μεγάλα σφόδρα 
Ud \ a a / 
συνίσταται, ὥστε καὶ ὗς ἐν αὐταῖς ἐγγίνεσθαι 
/ a \ a ὃ / \ 
πολλούς, Os καὶ κυνηγετοῦσι διαβαίνοντες.] καὶ 
“οὐδ ςς / 
περὶ μὲν ἐνύδρων ταῦτ᾽ εἰρήσθω. 
\ ΄ a 
XIII. epi δὲ βραχυβιότητος φυτῶν καὶ δέν- 
a “ »Μ > 
δρων τῶν ἐνύδρων ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἔχομεν ws ἂν καθ᾽ 
e ce / lal , 
ὅλου λέγοντες, ὅτι βραχυβιώτερα τῶν χερσαίων 
\ n \ \ εξ 
ἐστί, καθάπερ καὶ τὰ ζῶα. τοὺς δὲ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον 
fal a lal , 
βίους ἱστορῆσαι δεῖ τῶν χερσαίων. τὰ μὲν οὖν 
» / , ’ a ΑΝ 
ἄγριά φασιν οὐδεμίαν ἔχειν ὡς εἰπεῖν οἱ ὀρεοτύποι 
’ \ / Ss / \ b \ 
διαφοράν, ἀλλὰ πάντα εἶναι μακρόβια καὶ οὐθὲν 
/ » NX \ “ ” > θὲ / 
βραχύβιον: αὐτὸ μὲν τοῦτο ἴσως ἀληθὲς λέγον- 
eC , \ \ an 
TES’ ἅπαντα yap ὑπερτείνει πολὺ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων 
͵ ᾽ \ 5) > ὦ ᾽ \ \ \ A \ 
ζωήν. ov μὴν ἀλλ ὅμως ἐστὶ τὰ μὲν μᾶλλον τὰ 
“a / a 
δ᾽ ἧττον μακρύβια, καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς ἡμέροις" ποῖα 





----- 


1 6.15... δῆ. 4; 4. 8. ], 
382 


ENQUERY ΝΟ PEANTDS, ΤΥ απ 2 χα 1 


being, as it were, made up of several united together. 
it is broad, and underneath it has reddish scales. 
Now it is a peculiar fact about the roots of this plant 
that they wither every year and that the fresh 
growth of roots comes from the part of the plant 
which is above ground. Such is the character of 
rushes. 

Bramble and Christ’s thorn may be considered to 
some extent plants of the water or the waterside, 
as they are in some districts; but the distinctive 
characters of these plants are fairly clear, for we have 
spoken of both already.! 

The floating islands of Orchomenos? are of various 
sizes, the largest being about three furlongs in cir- 
cumference. But in Egypt very large ones form, so 
that even a number of boars are found in them, and 
men go across to the islands to hunt them. Let 
this account of water-plants suffice. 


Of the length or shortness of the life of plants, and the causes. 


XIII. As to the comparative shortness of life of 
plants and trees of the water we may say thus much 
as a general account, that, like the water-animals, 
they are shorter-lived than those of the dry land. 
But we must enquire into the lives of those of the 
dry land severally. Now the woodmen say that 
the wild kinds are almost * without exception long- 
lived, and none of them is short-lived: so far they 
may be speaking the truth; all such plants do live 
far longer than others. However, just as in the case 
of cultivated plants, some are longer-lived than others, 

2 of. 4. 10. 2, to which ὃ this note perhaps belongs. 


3 ὡς εἰπεῖν con]. Sch.; ὡς εἰπεῖ U:; ὡς εἴποι MV; ὡς ἂν εἴποιεν 


Ald. H. 
383 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ a ΄ \ δὲ “ n 
δὲ ταῦτα σκεπτέον. τὰ δὲ ἥμερα φανερῶς δια- 
/ a Xx \ “. ,) Ν \ / 
φέρει τῷ TA μὲν εἶναι μακρόβια τὰ δὲ βραχύβια:' 
lal a \ » a / 
ws δ᾽ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν TA ἄγρια τῶν ἡμέρων μακρο- 
/ \ eae “ / \ \ > / 
βιώτερα καὶ ὅλως TO γένει Kal τὰ ἀντιδιῃρημένα 
© / > / \ > \ / 
καθ᾽ ἕκαστον, οἷον κότινος ἐλάας Kal ἀχρὰς ἀπίου 
a , Ν 
ἐρινεὸς συκῆς" ἰσχυρότερα γὰρ καὶ πυκνότερα 
“ ’ 
καὶ ἀγονώτερα τοῖς περικαρπίοις. 
ἴω , , 
Τὴν δὲ μακροβιότητα μαρτυροῦσιν ἐπὶ γέ τινων 
/ 
Kal ἡμέρων καὶ ἀγρίων καὶ at παραδεδομέναι 
fal lal / 
φῆμαι παρὰ τῶν μυθολόγων: ἐλάαν μὲν yap 
, \ ᾽ / , \ \ > ΄ὔ 
λέγουσι τὴν ᾿Αθήνῃσι, φοίνικα δὲ τὸν ἐν Δήλῳ, 
/ \ \ > ᾽ ’ὔ > ’ Φ e , 
κότινον δὲ τὸν ἐν ᾿Ολυμπίᾳ, ἀφ᾽ οὗ ὁ στέφανος" 
\ \ \ 2 2 “ \ sea N maw / 
φηγοὺς δὲ Tas ἐν ᾿Γλίῳ τὰς ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἴλου μνήμα- 
\ a 
τος" τινὲς δέ φασι καὶ τὴν ἐν Δελφοῖς πλάτανον 
᾽ / a \ \ > K , fol 
Αγαμέμνονα φυτεῦσαι καὶ τὴν ἐν Kadvais τῆς 
᾿Αρκαδίας. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὅπως ἔχει τάχ᾽ ἂν 
oe v , “ δέ ΕῚ 7] ὃ \ 
ἕτερος εἴη λόγος" OTL OE ἐστι μεγάλη διαφορὰ 
lal , / \ \ 
τῶν δένδρων φανερόν: μακρόβια μὲν yap τά τε 
, Nia ce , ΄, \ Ἢ 
προειρημένα καὶ ἕτερα πλείω: βραχύβια δὲ καὶ 
fal « / a 
τὰ τοιαῦτα ὁμολογουμένως, οἷον pola συκῆ μηλέα, 
Ἁ ca \ o lol 
Kal τούτων ἡ ἠρινὴ μᾶλλον καὶ ἡ γλυκεῖα τῆς 
> / σ“ a ca tee) 7 ΄ 
ὀξείας, ὥσπερ τῶν ῥοῶν ἡ ἀπύρηνος. βραχύβια 
, \ 
δὲ Kal ἀμπέλων ἔνια γένη καὶ μάλιστα τὰ πολύ- 
a \ \ \ ΄ , 
xaptra: δοκεῖ δὲ καὶ τὰ πάρυδρα βραχυβιώτερα 


1 καὶ τὰ ἄντ. conj. W.; κατὰ ἀντ. UMV; τὰ ἀντ. ΑἸά.Η. 
2 περικαρπίοις αἵ. C.P. 1. 17. 5. 
3. On the Acropolis: ῳ΄. Hdt. 8. 55; Soph. O.C. 694 foll. 


384 








ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xu. 1-2 


and we must consider which these are. Cultivated 
plants plainly differ as to the length of their lives, 
but, to speak generally, wild plants are longer-lived 
than cultivated ones, both taken as classes, and also 
when one compares! the wild and cultivated forms 
of particular plants: thus the wild olive pear and fig 
are longer-lived than the corresponding cultivated 
trees ; for the wild forms of these are stronger and of 
closer growth, and they do not produce such well- 
developed fruit-pulp.? 

To the long-lived character of some plants, both 
cultivated and wild, witness is borne also by the tales 
handed down in mythology, as of the olive at Athens,* 
the palm in Delos,‘ and the wild olive at Olympia, 
from which the wreaths for the games are made; 
or again of the Valonia oaks at Ilium, planted on the 
tomb of Ilos. Again some say that Agamemnon 
planted the plane at Delphi, and the one at Kaphyai ὃ 
in Arcadia. Now how this is may perhaps be 
another story, but anyhow it is plain that there is a 
great difference between trees in this respect; the 
kinds that have been mentioned, and many others 
besides, are long-lived, while the following are ad- 
mittedly short-lived—pomegranate fig apple: and 
among apples the ‘spring’ sort and the ‘sweet’ 
apple are shorter-lived than the ‘sour’ apple, even 
as the ‘stoneless’ pomegranate is shorter-lived than 
the other kinds. Also some kinds of vine are short- 
lived, especially those which bear much fruit ; and it 
appears that trees which grow by water are shorter- 


4 Under which Leto gave birth to Artemis and Apollo: ef. 
Paus. 8. 48. 3; Cic. de Leg. 1.1.; Plin. 16. 238. 
5 Its planting is ascribed to Menelaus by Paus. 8. 23. 3. 


385 


THEOPHRASTUS 


a ’ - a > e ’ / , > ‘ 
τῶν ἐν τοῖς ξηροῖς εἶναι, οἷον ἰτέα λεύκη ἀκτὴ 
αἴγειρος. 

ὙΠ be Z \ ὧν / Lé 

Via δὲ γηράσκει μὲν καὶ σήπεται ταχέως, 
παραβλαστάνει δὲ πάλιν ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν, ὥσπερ αἱ 
e 12 / n 
δάφναι καὶ at μηλέαι τε Kal αἱ poat Kal τῶν 
/ \ / \ © \ / ἌΝ 
φιλύδρων τὰ πολλά: περὶ ὧν καὶ σκέψαιτ᾽ ἄν 
/ lal] δ LY 
τις πότερα ταὐτὰ δεῖ λέγειν ἢ ἕτερα' καθάπερ εἴ 
\ / , nr 
τις TO στέλεχος ἀποκόψας, ὥσπερ ποιοῦσιν οἱ 
/, / > / \ v4 a εἰ 
γεωργοί, πάλιν ἀναθεραπεύοι τοὺς βλαστούς, ἢ εἰ 
δ / / lal € rn 
Kal ὅλως ἐκκόψειεν ἄχρι τῶν ῥιζῶν Kal ἐπικαύ- 
\ \ al a Chey \ \ 
σειεν' καὶ yap ταῦτα ποιοῦσιν, ὁτὲ δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ 
ἴω / , \ la) 
τοῦ αὐτομάτου συμβαίνει: πότερα δὴ τοῦτο ταὐτὸ 

fal Av 6 Ν 
δεῖ λέγειν ἢ ἕτερον; ἣἧ μὲν γὰρ ἀεὶ τὰ μέρη τας 

> / \ / / / 
αὐξήσεις καὶ φθίσεις φαίνεται παραλλάττοντα 

/ Xi > an 
καὶ ἔτι Tas διακαθάρσεις τὰς ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν, ταύτῃ 
\ 3 , 3 
μὲν ἂν δόξειε ταὐτὸν εἶναι: τί γὰρ ἂν ἐπὶ τούτων 
Ry 7 / , @ ’ v4 b] / \ / 
ἢ ἐκείνων διαφέροι; 7 δ᾽ ὥσπερ οὐσία καὶ φύσις 
lal / ΄ +N / \ / “ 
τοῦ δένδρου μάλιστ᾽ ἂν φαίνοιτο τὸ στέλεχος, ὅταν 
is a Ἂ \ ef “ ε 4 

μεταλλάττῃ τοῦτο, κἂν TO ὅλον ἕτερον ὑπολάβοι 
\ 7 \ \ \ la) lal a 

τις, εἰ μὴ ἄρα Sia TO ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν ἀρχῶν εἶναι 

ὙΠ) / ,ὔ ΄ , \ \ 

ταὐτὸ θείη: καΐτοι πολλάκις συμβαίνει καὶ τὰς 
/ νὰ x a Ν 

ῥίζας ἑτέρας εἶναι καὶ μεταβάλλειν τῶν μὲν σηπο- 
n Bae: b] rn a 

μένων τῶν δ᾽ ἐξ ἀρχῆς Βλαστανουσῶν. ἐπεί, ἐὰν 

b \ “ [χὰ », ey \ > / 
ἀληθὲς ἡ, ὥς γέ τινές φασι, τὰς ἀμπέλους μακρο- 





el ot an Oey aerial eat 

2 ἀναθεραπεύοι con}. W.3; avabepamever Ald. 

8. ἢ εἰ καὶ ὅλως conj. W.; ἃ εἰ καὶ καλῶς U; ἀεὶ καὶ καλῶ" 
MV; καὶ εἰ καλῶς Ald. H. 

4 Sc. and then encourage new growth, 


386 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xm. 2-4 


lived than those which live in dry places: this is true 
of willow abele elder and black poplar. 

Some trees, though they grow old and decay 
quickly, shoot up again from the same stock,! as 
bay apple pomegranate and most of the water- 
loving trees. About these one might enquire 
whether one should call the new growth the same 
tree or a new one; to take a similar case, if, after 
cutting down the trunk, one should, as the husband- 
men do, encourage? the new shoots to grow again, 
or if? one should cut the tree right down to the 
roots and burn the stump,‘ (for these things are 
commonly done, and they also sometimes occur 
naturally); are we then here too, to call the new 
growth the same tree, or another one? In so far as 
it is always the parts of the tree which appear to 
alternate their periods of growth and decay and also 
the prunings which they themselves thus make, so 
far the newand the old growth might seem to be the 
same tree; for what difference can there be in the 
one as compared with the other?® On the other 
hand, in so far as the trunk would seem to be above 
all the essential part of the tree, which gives it its 
special character, when this changes, one might 
suppose that the whole tree becomes something 
different—unless indeed one should lay down that to 
have the same starting-point constitutes identity ; 
whereas it often® happens that the roots too are 
different and undergo a change, since some decay 
and others grow afresh.’ For if it be true, as some 
assert, that the reason why the vine is the longest 

5 j.e. how can the substitution of one set of ‘ parts’ for 
another destroy the identity of the tree as a whole? 


6 πολλάκις COnj. Sch. from G ; πολλὰ καὶ Ald. H. 
7 And so the ‘starting-point’ too is not constant. 


387 


THEOPHRASTUS 


βιωτάτας εἶναι τῷ μὴ φύειν ἑτέρας ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ αὐτῶ 
ς ῷ μὴ pas αὐτῶι 
ἘΠ τεὴν “ A x , 
ἀεὶ συναναπληροῦσθαι, γελοῖον ἂν ἴσως δοκοίη τοι- 
, \ 
αὐτη σύγκρισις ἐὰν «μὴ: μένῃ TO στέλεχος: αὕτη 
γὰρ οἷον ὑπόθεσις καὶ φύσις δένδρων. τοῦτο μὲν 
« 
οὖν ὁποτέρως ποτὲ λεκτέον οὐθὲν ἂν διενέγκαι 
\ \ a ΟῚ 
πρὸς τὰ νῦν. τάχα δ᾽ ἂν εἴη μακροβιώτατον τὸ 
πάντως δυνάμενον ἀνταρκεῖν, ὥσπερ ἡ ἐλάα καὶ 
A \ n / a 
τῷ στελέχει καὶ τῇ παραβλαστήσει Kal τῷ 
» Ν εἰ lal \ ς / 
δυσωλέθρους ἔχειν τὰς pitas. δοκεῖ δὲ ὁ Bios 
τῆς γε μιᾶς εἶναι, καθ᾽ ὃν τὸ στέλεχος δεῖ τὴν 
\ / Ud A 
ἀρχὴν τιθέντα μέτρον ἀναμετρεῖν τὸν χρόνον, 
, an 
μάλιστα περὶ ἔτη διακόσια. εἰ δ᾽ ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῶν 
, / lal 
ἀμπέλων λέγουσί TIVES, WS παραιρουμένων τῶν 
ῥιζῶν κατὰ μέρος δύναται διαμένειν τὸ στέλεχος, 
fe / ς “ 
καὶ ἡ ὅλη φύσις ὁμοία καὶ ὁμοιοφόρος ὁποσονοῦν 
A 
χρόνον, μακροβιώτατον ἂν ein πάντων. φασὶ δὲ 
δεῖν οὕτω ποιεῖν ὅταν ἤδη δοκῇ καταφέρεσθαι: 
/ 4 > τ \ n \ 
κλήματά τε ἐπιβάλλειν καὶ καρποῦσθαι τὸν 
\ “ \ 
ἐνιαυτόν: μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα κατασκάψαντα ἐπὶ 
θάτερα THs ἀμπέλου περικαθᾶραι πάσας τὰς 
CP > a / ἌΣ / 
pitas, εἶτ᾽ ἐμπλῆσαι φρυγάνων καὶ ἐπαμήσασθαι 
Ἁ “ / \ 3 a »” “ / 
τὴν γῆν: τούτῳ μὲν οὖν TO ἔτει κακῶς HéEpent 
ἠὃ A δ᾽ ς / ω βέλ ἰ a δὲ ’ \ 
σφοὸρα, Tw ὑστέρῳ βέλτιον, τῷ O€ τρίτῳ καὶ 





1 δὲ αὐτῶν Ald., sc. τῶν ῥιζῶν ; ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν conj. W. 

2 7.e. such an argument practically assumes the permanence 
of the trunk, which in the case of the vine can hardly be 
considered apart from the root. δοκοίη τοιαύτη σύγκρισις I 
conj. from ἃ ; δικαιοτάτη σύγκρισις MVAId.; δικαιοτάτηι 
συγκρίσεις U; δοκοίη εἶναι ἣ σύγκρισις conj. Sch.; so W. in 
his earlier edition: in his later editions he emends wildly. 


388 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xu. 4-6 


lived of trees, is that, instead of producing new 
roots, it always renews itself from the existing ones,! 
such an illustration must surely lead to an absurd con- 
clusion,? unless? we assume that the stock persists, 
as it must do, since it is, as it were, the fundamental 
and essential part of a tree. However it cannot 
matter much for our present purpose which account 
is the right one. Perhaps we may say that the 
longest-lived tree is that which in all ways is able to 
persist, as does the olive by its trunk, by its power 
of developing sidegrowth, and by the fact that its 
roots are so hard to destroy. It appears that tne 
life of the individual olive (in regard to which one 
should make the trunk the essential part and standard ® 
in estimating the time), lasts for about two hundred 
years.® But if it is true of the vine, as some say, that, 
if the roots are partly removed, the trunk is able to 
survive, and the whole character of the tree remains 
the same and produces like fruits for any period, 
however long, then the vine will be the longest-lived 
of all trees. They say that, when the vine seems to 
be deteriorating, this is what one should do :—one 
should encourage the growth of branches and gather 
the fruit that year; and after that one should dig on 
one side of the vine and prune away all the roots on 
that side, and then fill the hole with brushwood and 
heap up the soil. In that year, they say, the vine 
bears very badly, but better in the next, while in the 


3.1 have inserted μὴ, which G seems to have read. 

4 ἀνταρκεῖν U, cf. Ar. Hq. 540; αὐταρκεῖν Ald. 

5 καθ᾽ ὃν τὸ στέλεχος δεῖ τὴν ἀρχὴν τιθέντα I conj. ; so G; 
καθ᾽ ὃν στέλεχος ἤδη τὴν ἀρχὴν τιθέντα μέτρον Ald.H.; εἰ 
δεῖ for ἤδη U3; καθ᾽ ὃ τοῦ στελέχους δεῖ τὸν ὄγκον τιθέντα μέτρον 
conj. W.; καθ᾽ ὃν τὸ στ. ἤδη ἀρχὴν καὶ μέτρον χρὴ conj. Sch. 
α΄. end of § 4. 6 Plin. 16. 241. 


389 


THEOPHRASTUS 


τετάρτῳ καθίστασθαι καὶ φέρειν πολλοὺς και 
fd e \ / Kx Ὁ » 
καλούς, ὥστε μηδὲν διαφέρειν ἢ ὅτε ἤκμαζεν' 
᾽ \ \ / >? A , / 
ἐπειδὰν δὲ πάλιν ἀποπληγῇ, θάτερον μέρος παρα- 
4 ε / \ 
σκάπτειν Kal θεραπεύειν ὁμοίως, καὶ οὕτως αἰεὶ 
a la) ’ a 
διαμένειν: ποιεῖν δὲ τοῦτο μάλιστα bu ἐτῶν δέκα: 
᾽ , U \ a a 
de ὃ Kal κόπτειν οὐδέποτε TOUS τοῦτο ποιοῦντας, 
\ \ 
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ γενεὰς πολλὰς ταὐτὰ τὰ στελέχη δια- 
σ an \ , 
μένειν, ὥστε μηδὲ μεμνῆσθαι τοὺς φυτεύσαντας" 
a a , 
τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἴσως TOV πεπειραμένων ἀκούοντα 
a / \ \ id \ ΄ 
δεῖ πιστεύειν. τὰ δὲ μακρόβια καὶ βραχύβια 
“ >? ἰδ , 
διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων θεωρητέον. 
a , 
XIV. Νοσήματα δὲ τοῖς μὲν ἀγρίοις οὔ φασι 
, a / 
ξυμβαίνειν ὑφ᾽ ὧν ἀναιροῦνται, φαύλως δὲ δια- 
\ 
τίθεσθαι καὶ μάλιστα ἐπιδήλως ὅταν χαλαζοκο- 
a A fy , a > / x 
πηθῇ ἢ βλαστάνειν μέλλοντα ἢ ἀρχόμενα ἢ 
“Ὁ A na 
ἀνθοῦντα, καὶ ὅταν ἢ πνεῦμα ψυχρὸν ἢ θερμὸν 
/ 
ἐπιγένηται KATA τούτους τοὺς καιρούς. ὑπὸ δὲ 
- ς / , 27Q\ xn € / 
TOV ὡραίων χειμώνων οὐδὲ av ὑπερβάλλοντες 
\ a 
@olv οὐδὲν πάσχειν, ἀλλὰ Kal ξυμφέρειν πᾶσι 
a \ fa \ 
χειμασθῆναι' μὴ χειμασθέντα yap κακοβλαστό- 
’ a 
tepa γίνεσθαι. τοῖς δὲ ἡμέροις ἐστὶ πλείω νοσή- 
\ ᾽ X cal a 
ματα, Kal τὰ μὲν ὥσπερ κοινὰ πᾶσιν ἢ τοῖς 
, \ ey \ t \ \ ’ 
πλείστοις τὰ δ᾽ ἴδια κατὰ γένη. κοινὰ δὴ τό τε 
lol \ lal € 
σκωληκοῦσθαι Kal ἀστροβολεῖσθαι καὶ ὁ σφα- 
“ \ ca) 
κελισμός. ἅπαντα yap ws εἰπεῖν Kal σκώληκας 





1 ἀποπληγῇ : ἀπολήγῃ conj. Sch. 
Pin. 17. 910: Sele Cerio os. 
* κατὰ γένη conj. W.; καὶ τὰ γένη UMV; καὶ κατὰ γένη Ald. 


390 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xr. 6--χιν, 2 


third and fourth it becomes normal again and bears 
many fair clusters, so that it is quite as good as when 
it was in its prime. And when it goes off again,} 
they say one should dig on the other side and apply 
the same treatment; and that so treated the tree 
lasts for ever ; and this should be done at intervals of 
about ten years. And this is why those who adopt 
this treatment never cut down the vine, but the same 
stems remain for many generations, so that even 
those who planted the trees cannot remember doing 
so. However perhaps one should enquire of those 
who have had experience before accepting this state- 
ment. These examples may serve for considering 
which trees are long-lived and which short-lived. 


Of diseases and injuries done by weather conditions. 


XIV. 2As to diseases—they say that wild trees 
are not liable to diseases which destroy them, but 
that they get into poor condition, and that most 
obviously when they are smitten with hail when 
either they are about to bud or are just budding 
or are in bloom; also when either a cold or a hot 
wind comes at such seasons: but that from season- 
able storms, even if they be violent, they take no 
hurt,? but rather that it is good for them all to be 
exposed to weather: for, unless they are, they do 
not grow so well. Cultivated kinds however, they 
say, are subject to various diseases, some of which 
are, one may say, common to all or to most, while 
others are special to particular kinds.4 General 
diseases are those® of being worm-eaten, of being 
sun-scorched, and rot.® All trees, it may be said, 


5 κοινὰ δὴ τό τε Conj. W.; κοινὰ καὶ τότε UMV; κοινά" οἷον 


τότε Ald. H. 6 of. 8.10. 1. 
391 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἴσχει πλὴν τὰ μὲν ἐλάττους τὰ δὲ πλείους, καθά- 
περ συκῆ μηλέα καὶ ἄπιος. ὡς δὲ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν 
ἥκιστα σκωληκοῦνται τὰ δριμέα καὶ ὀπώδη, καὶ 
ἀστροβολεῖται ὡσαύτως" μᾶλλον δὲ τοῖς νέοις ἢ 
τοῖς ἐν ἀκμῇ τοῦτο συμβαίνει, πάντων δὲ μάλιστα 
τῇ τε συκῇ καὶ τῇ ἀμπέλῳ. 

ad δ ἐλάα πρὸς τῷ τοὺς σκώληκας ἴσχειν, οἱ 
δὴ καὶ τὴν συκῆν διαφθείρουσιν ἐ ἐντίκτοντες, φύει 
καὶ ἧλον" οἱ δὲ μύκητα καλοῦσιν, ἔνιοι δὲ λοπάδα: 
τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶν οἷον ἡλίου καῦσις. διαφθείρονται 
δ᾽ ἐνίοτε καὶ ai νέαι ἐλάαι διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς 
πολυκαρπίας. ἡ δὲ ψώρα καὶ οἱ προσφυόμενοι 
κοχλίαι συκῆς εἰσιν: οὐ πανταχοῦ δὲ τοῦτο 
συμβαίνει ταῖς συκαῖς, ἀλλ᾽ ἔοικε καὶ τὰ 
νοσήματα γίνεσθαι, κατὰ τοὺς τόπους, ὥσπερ τοῖς 
ζώοις" ἐπεὶ παρ᾽ ἐνίοις οὐ ψωριῶσι, καθάπερ οὐδὲ 
περὶ τὴν Αἰνείαν. 

᾿Αλίσκεται δὲ συκῆ μάλιστα καὶ σφακελισμῷ 
καὶ κράδῳ. καλεῖται δὲ σφακελισμὸς μὲν ὅταν αἱ 
ῥίζαι μελανθῶσι, κράδος δ᾽ ὅταν οἱ κλάδοι" καὶ 
γὰρ καλοῦσί τίνες κράδους, ὅθεν καὶ τοὔνομα τῇ 
νόσῳ" 0 8 ἐρινεὸς οὔτε κραδᾷ οὔτε σφακελίξει 
οὔτε ψωριᾷ οὔτε σκωληκοῦται ταῖς ῥιζαῖς ὁ ὁμοίως: 
οὐδὲ δὴ τὰ ἐρινά τίνες ἀποβάλλουσιν οὐδ᾽ ἐὰν 
ἐμφυτευθῶσιν εἰς συκῆν. 





1 ὀπώδη UMVAId.; εὐώδη H., evidently from Plin. 17. 221. 
cf. C.P. 5. 9. 4 and 5. 

2 λοπάδα: Plin. 17. 223, patella. The ἧλος is an abortive 
bud, called in Italian novolo. 

3 ἡλίου καῦσις conj. Scal. from Plin. ἐ. 6. veluti solis exustio : 
80 also G; ἡλοιαυτον U; ἧλοι αὐτὸν V; ἥλοι αὐτῶν M3; faa 
αὐτῶν Ald. which W. prints provisionally, 


392 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xiv. 2-4 


have worms, but some less, as fig and apple, some 
more, as pear. Speaking generally, those least liable 
to be worm-eaten are those which have a bitter 
acrid! juice, and these are also less liable to sun- 
scorch. Moreover this occurs more commonly in 
young trees than in those which have come to their 
strength, and most of all it occurs in the fig and the 
vine. 

The olive, in addition to having worms (which 
destroy the fig too by breeding in it), produces also 
a ‘knot’ (which some call a fungus, others a bark- 
blister 23), and it resembles the effect of sun-scorch.3 
Also sometimes young olives are destroyed by exces- 
sive fruitfulness. The fig is also liable to scab, and 
to snails which cling to it. However this does not 
happen to figs everywhere, but it appears that, as 
with animals, diseases are dependent on local con- 
ditions ; for in some parts, as about Aineia,‘ the figs 
do not get scab. 

The fig is also often a victim to rot and to 
krados. It is called rot when the roots turn black, 
it is called krados when the branches do so; for 
some call the branches kradoz® (instead of kladoi), 
whence the name is transferred to the disease. The 
wild fig does not suffer from krados rot or scab, nor 
does it get so worm-eaten in its roots® as the culti- 
vated tree; indeed some wild figs do not even shed 
their early fruit—not even if they are grafted? into 
a cultivated tree. 


ὉΠ 5. Ὁ 5 Evidently a dialectic form. 

5 ῥίζαις PAld.; συκαῖς W. after conj. of Sch. 

* ἐμφυτευθῶσιν conj. Sch.; ἔνι gut. UMV; ἔνια our. Ald. 
Apparently the object of such grafting was the ‘ caprification ’ 
of the cultivated tree (ef. 2. 8. 3); but grafting for this 
purpose does not seem to be mentioned elsewhere. 


393 


THEOPHRASTUS 


« δ 
Η δὲ ψώρα μάλιστα γίνεται ὅταν ὕδωρ ἐπὶ 
Πλειάδι γένηται μὴ πολύ: ἐὰν δὲ πολύ, ἀπο- 
΄ ΄ \ / \ Aad ae 
κλύζξεται: συμβαίνει δὲ τότε Kal τὰ ἐρινὰ ἀπορ- 
ρεῖν καὶ τοὺς ὀλύνθους. τῶν δὲ σκωλήκων τῶν 
an a an / 
ἐν ταῖς συκαῖς οἱ μὲν ἐξ αὐτῆς γίνονται οἱ δὲ 
, \ a , 
ἐντίκτονται ὑπὸ τοῦ καλουμένου κεράστου" πάντες 
δὲ εἰς κεράστην ἀποκαθίστανται' φθέγγονται δὲ 
, a lel \ \ 
οἷον τριγμόν. νοσεῖ δὲ συκῆ Kal ἐὰν ἐπομβρία 
Ν \ J \ 
γένηται" τά τε yap πρὸς THY ῥίζαν Kal αὐτὴ ἡ 
ἘΝ Ld aA la) \ la) - 
pila ὥσπερ pada: τοῦτο δὲ καλοῦσι λοπᾶν. 
ς >) ” [2] “ Ν / > Qn 
ἡ © ἄμπελος τραγᾷ' τοῦτο δὲ μάλιστα αὐτῆς 
ἐστι πρὸς τῷ ἀστροβολεῖσθαι, ἢ ὅταν ὑπὸ 
πνευμάτων βλαστοκοπηθῇ ἢ ὅταν τῇ ἐργασίᾳ 
aA , / a 
συμπάθῃ ἢ τρίτον ὑπτία τμηθῇ. 
ς \ \ Id ἃ Ὁ ΤΡ , 
Puds δὲ γίνεται, ὃ καλοῦσί τινες ψίνεσθαι, 
A b] fal \ \ > , Ἃ “ 
ὅταν ἐπινιφθῆῇ κατὰ τὴν ἀπανθησιν ἢ ὅταν 
a \ / Ay « a 
κρειττωθῆ: TO δὲ πάθος ἐστὶν ὥστε ἀπορρεῖν τὰς 
a \ ΄ ΞΨ' 
ῥᾶγας καὶ τὰς ἐπιμενούσας εἶναι μικράς. ἔνια δὲ 
a 4 ” 
καὶ ῥιγώσαντα νοσεῖ, καθάπερ ἡ ἄμπελος: ap- 
βλοῦνται γὰρ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τῆς πρωτοτόμου" καὶ 
/ tal \ \ fs 
πάλιν ὑπερθερμανθέντα: ζητεῖ yap καὶ τούτων τὴν 
ls ef \ a n a 
συμμετρίαν ὥσπερ Kal τῆς τροφῆς. ὅλως δὲ πᾶν 
τὸ παρὰ φύσιν ἐπικίνδυνον. 


ΤΙ Ὁ 5 0. LO ΘΟ 6.9, 15: 

2 of. ὅ. 4. δ; CLP. 5.10.5; Plin. 17. 221. 

3 αὐτὴ ἡ ῥίζα 1 conj.; αὐτὴν τὴν ῥίζαν U; om. Ald. 

ὙΠ C, Pid) Ga lees Pin, 17: 95: 

5 7.¢. shedding of the ‘bark’ of the roots. λοπᾶν conj. 
Sch., cf. C.P. 5. 9. 9; λοπάδα Ald.H., cf. 4. 14. 3; but the 
word here points to a different disease. 

6 ὑπτία τομή seems to be a technical term for pruning in 
such a way that the growth of the new wood is encouraged 


394 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xiv. 5-6 


Scab! chiefly occurs when there is not much rain 
after the rising of the Pleiad; if rain is abundant, 
the scab is washed off, and at such times it comes 
to pass that both the spring and the winter figs drop 
off. Of the worms found in fig-trees some have their 
origin in the tree, some are produced in it by the 
creature called the ‘horned worm’ ; but they all turn 
into the ‘horned worm’;? and they make a shrill 
noise. The fig also becomes diseased if there is 
heavy rain; for then the parts towards the root and 
the root itself? become, as it were, sodden,‘ and this 
they call ‘bark-shedding.’® The vine suffers from 
over-luxuriance ; this, as well as sun-scorch, specially 
happens to it either when the young shoots are cut 
by winds, or when it has suffered from bad cultivation, 
or, thirdly, when it has been pruned upwards.°® 

The vine becomes a ‘ shedder,’? a condition which 
some call ‘ casting of the fruit,’ if the tree is snowed 
upon at the time when the blossom falls, or else 
when it becomes over lusty; 8 what happens is that the 
unripe grapes drop off, and those that remain on the 
tree are small. Some trees also contract disease 
from frost, for instance the vine ; for then the eyes of 
the vine that was pruned early become abortive ; and 
this also happens from excessive heat, for the vine 
seeks regularity in these conditions too, as in its 
nourishment. And in general anything is dangerous 
which is contrary to the normal course of things. 


and so there is less fruit: exact sense obscure; ? ‘from 
below’ (#.e. with the blade of the knife pointing upwards). 
cf. C.P. l.c.; Col. 4. 24. 15; Plin. l.c., in supinum excisis. 
def. CE. δ. 9:15: 
8 κρειττωθῇ : 1.6. the growth is over-luxuriant. The word 
occurs elsewhere only in the parallel passage C.P. l.c., where 
occurs also the subst. κρείττωσις, evidently a technical term. 


395 


7 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Μεγάλα δὲ ξυμβάλλεται καὶ τὰ τραύματα καὶ 
αἱ πληγαὶ τῶν περισκαπτόντων εἰς τὸ μὴ φέρειν 
τὰς μεταβολὰς ἢ ἢ καυμάτων. ἢ χειμώνων" ἀσθενὲς 
γὰρ ὃν διὰ τὴν ἕλκωσιν καὶ τὸν πόνον εὐχειρω- 
τότατόν ἐστι ταῖς ὑπερβολαῖς. σχεδὸν δέ, ὦ ὥς τίνες 
οἴονται, τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν νοσημάτων ἀπὸ πληγῆς 
γίνεται" καὶ γὰρ τὰ ἀστρόβλητα καλούμενα καὶ 
τὰ σφακελίζοντα διὰ τὸ ἀπὸ ταύτης εἶναι τῶν 
διζῶν τὸν πόνον. οἴονται δὲ καὶ δύο ταύτας εἶναι 
μόνας νόσους: οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τοῦτό γ᾽ οὐκ ἄγαν 
ὁμολογούμενόν ἐστι. 

[Πάντων δ᾽ ἀσθενέστατον ἡ μηλέα ἡ ἠρινὴ καὶ 
τούτων ἡ γλυκεῖα. J 

Ἔνιαι δὲ πηρώσεις οὐκ eis φθορὰν γίνονται 
ὅλων ἀλλ᾽ εἰς ἀκαρπίαν: οἷον ἐάν τις τῆς πίτυος 
ἀφέλῃ τὸ ἄκρον ἢ τοῦ φοίνικος, ἄκαρπα γίνεσθαι 
ἄμφω δοκεῖ καὶ οὐχ ὅλως ἀναιρεῖσθαι. 

Vivovras δὲ νόσοι καὶ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν, ἐὰν 
μὴ κατὰ καιρὸν τὰ πνεύματα καὶ τὰ οὐράνια 
γένηται" συμβαίνει γὰρ ὁτὲ μὲν ἀποβάλλειν 
γενομένων ἢ ἢ μὴ γενομένων ὑδάτων, οἷον τὰς συκᾶς, 
ὁτὲ δὲ χείρους γίνεσθαι σηπομένους καὶ καταπνιγο- 
μένους ἢ πάλιν ἀναξηραινομένους παρὰ τὸ δέον. 
χείριστον δὲ ἐὰν ἀπανθοῦσί τισιν ἐφύσῃ, καθάπερ 
ἐλάᾳ καὶ ἀμπέλῳ: συναπορρεῖ γὰρ ὁ καρπὸς δι’ 
ἀσθένειαν. 


ΤΙ 17: ΣΡ: 
7 εὐχειρωτότατον conj. W. after Lobeck ; εὐχειρότατον Ald. 
3 πόνον conj. H. from G; τόπον MV Ald. 
4 This sentence is clearly out of place: the plural τούτων 
has nothing to refer to. ef. 4. 13.2. It is represented how- 
ever by Plin. ἐ.6. 


396 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xv. 7-8 


1 Moreover the wounds and blows inflicted by men 
who dig about the vines render them less able to bear 
the alternations of heat and cold ; for then the tree is 
weak owing to the wounding and to the strain put 
upon it, and falls an easy prey? to excess of heat 
and cold. Indeed, as some think, most diseases 
may be said to be due to a blow; for that even 
the diseases known as ‘ sun-scorch’ and ‘rot’ occur 
because the roots have suffered in this way.? In 
fact they think that there are only these two 
diseases ; but there is not general agreement on this 
point. 

The ‘spring apple’ and especially the sweet 
form of it, has the weakest constitution. 

5Some mutilations however do not cause destruc- 
tion of the whole ® tree, but only produce barrenness ; 
for instance, if one takes away the top of the Aleppo 
pine or the date-palm, the tree in both cases appears 
to become barren, but not to be altogether destroyed. 

There are also diseases of the fruits themselves, 
which occur if the winds and rains do not come 
in due season. For it comes to pass’ that sometimes 
trees, figs, for example, shed their fruit when rain 
does or does not come, and’ sometimes the fruit is 
spoilt by being rotted and so choked off,? or again 
by being unduly dried up. It is worst of all for 
some trees, as olive and vine, if rain falls on them as 
they are dropping their blossom ; 10 for then the fruit, 
having no strength, drops also. 


5 Plin. 17. 228 and 229. 

6 ὅλων conj. W.; τινων P,Ald.H. cf. C.P. 5. 17. 3 and 6. 
ΤΟΙΣ ΟΣ 0010.00: 

8 δὲ add. Sch. ΒΓ ΟΣ ἘΣ εἴς: 

10 ἀπανθοῦσι conj. Sch. from G and Plin. ἰ.6.; ἐπανθοῦσι Ald. H. 


397 


THEOPHRASTUS 


’ \ \ “ 
Ev Μιλήτῳ δὲ τὰς ἐλάας, ὅταν ὦσι περὶ το 
, a / , e \ Ν 4 « 
ἀνθεῖν, κάμπαι κατεσθίουσιν, αἱ μὲν τὰ φύλλα αἱ 
ΝΜ a Ve rn 
δὲ τὰ ἄνθη, ἕτεραι τῷ γένει, καὶ ψιλοῦσι τὰ 
’ὔ / NP SDN oa / \ > ’ SIN 
δένδρα: γίνονται δὲ ἐὰν ἢ νότια Kal εὐδιεινά" ἐὰν 
VA 
δὲ ἐπιλάβῃ καύματα ῥήγνυνται. 
’ 
Περὶ δὲ Τάραντα προφαίνουσι μὲν ἀεὶ πολὺν 
/ (e \ \ \ > ͵ \ ᾽ > / 
καρπόν, ὑπὸ δὲ THY ἀπάνθησιν τὰ TOAN ἀπόλ- 
an an / 
λυται. τὰ μὲν οὖν τοιαῦτα τῶν τόπων ἴδια. 
/ \ » fd Mf a > ‘ 
"νεται δὲ καὶ ἄλλο νόσημα περὶ τὰς ἐλάας 
ἀράχνιον καλούμενον" φύεται γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ δια- 
\ / 
φθείρει Tov καρπόν. ἐπικάει δὲ καὶ καύματά 
τινα καὶ ἐλάαν καὶ βότρυν καὶ ἄλλους καρπούς. 
οἱ δὲ καρποὶ σκωληκοῦνταί τίνων, οἷον ἐλάας 
ἀπίου μηλέας μεσπίλης ῥ poas. καὶ ὅ γε τῆς ἐλάας 
σκώληξ ἐ ἐὰν μὲν ὑπὸ τὸ δέ ρμα γένηται διαφθείρει 
τὸν καρπόν, ἐὰν δὲ τὸν πυρῆνα διαφάγῃ ὠφελεῖ. 
κωλύεται δὲ ὑπὸ τῷ δέρματι εἶναι ὕδατος ἐπ᾽ 
᾿Αρκτούρῳ γενομένου. γίνονται, δὲ καὶ ἐν ταῖς 
δρυπεπέσι σκώληκες, αἵπερ καὶ χείρους εἰς τὴν 
=> 
ῥύσιν" ὅλως δὲ καὶ δοκοῦσιν εἶναι σαπραΐί: δ ὃ 
καὶ γίνονται τοῖς νοτίοις καὶ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς 
/ a “ 
ἐφύδροις. ἐγγίνονται δὲ καὶ κνῖπες ἔν τισι τῶν 
a A. \ A a 
δένδρων, ὥσπερ ἐν TH δρυὶ Kal TH συκῇ" Kal 
n a , an 
δοκοῦσιν ἐκ τῆς ὑγρότητος συνίστασθαι THs ὑπὸ 
- 3 / a 
τὸν φλοιὸν συνισταμένης: αὕτη δέ ἐστι γλυκεῖα 
\ , 
γευομένοις. γίνονται δὲ καὶ ἐν λαχάνοις τισίν, 





ef CUP. δ. 10: 3. 
Tarentum : ef. C.P. 16: 
ἀπάνθησιν conj. W.; ἄνθησιν Ald. 
4 Plin. 17. 229-231. 
5 ἀράχνιον conj. Sch. after Meurs.; ἀρίχνιον UPg3 ἀρχίχνιον 
MVP; ἀρχίνιον Ald. ef. C.P. 5. 10. 2 


398 


> = 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xiv. 9-10 


1In Miletus the vines at the time of flowering are 
eaten by caterpillars, some of which devour the 
flowers, others, a different kind, the leaves; and they 
strip the tree; these appear if there is a south wind 
and sunny weather ; if the heat overtakes them, the 
trees split. 

About Taras? the olives always shew much fruit, 
but most of it perishes at the time when the blossom 
falls.8 Such are the drawbacks special to par- 
ticular regions. 

4There is also another disease incident to the 
olive, which is called cobweb; ° for this forms ® 
on the tree and destroys the fruit. Certain hot? 
winds also scorch both olive vine-cluster and other 
fruits. And the fruits of some get worm-eaten,’ as 
olive pear apple medlar pomegranate. Now the 
worm which infests the olive, if it appears below the 
skin, destroys the fruit; but if it devours the stone it 
is beneficial, And it is prevented from appearing 
under the skin if there is rain after? the rising of 
Arcturus. Worms also occur in the fruit which 
ripens on the tree, and these are more harmful as 
affecting the yield of oil. Indeed these worms seem 
to be altogether rotten ; wherefore they appear when 
there is a south wind and particularly in damp 
places. The knzps!° also occurs in certain trees, as 
the oak and fig, and it appears that it forms from the 
moisture which collects under the bark, which is 
sweet to the taste. Worms also occur! in some 


6 φύεται Ald.; ἐμφύεται conj. Sch. from C.P. l.c., but the 
text is perhaps defective. 


ef. CP. 5. 10: Ὁ: 8 Ὁ Ὁ. δ: 10} 1: 
9. Ἐπὶ Cony. Θ0Π,, 6). Ὁ. δ. 5. LOW 1 ὑπ᾿ Ὁ: ἀπὸ “Ald. Ae 
ΣΟ 9.8.9 


1 The subject οὗ γίνονται is probably σκώληκες, ποῦ κνῖπες. 


399 


11 


12 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ 4 a “ aA 
ἔνθα δὲ κάμπαι διαφερούσης δῆλον ὅτι τῆς 
’ an 
ἀρχῆς. 
\ \ \ / \ nn Ν >’ 
Kal τὰ μὲν νοσήματα σχεδὸν ταῦτα καὶ ἐν 
, 
τούτοις ἐστίν. ἔνια δὲ πάθη τῶν κατὰ τὰς ὥρας 
καὶ τῶν κατὰ τοὺς τόπους , γινομένων ἀναιρεῖν 
πέφυκεν, ἃ οὐκ ἄν τις εἴποι νόσους, οἷον λέγω τὴν 
Ψ, \ a “ ’, , yA \ 
ἔκπηξιν καὶ ὃ καλοῦσί τινες καυθμόν. ἄλλα δὲ 
> 7, 
Tap ἑκάστοις πέφυκε πνεύματα ἀπολλύναι Kal 
ἀποκάειν" οἷον ἐν Χαλκίδι τῆς Εὐβοίας ᾿Ολυμπίας 
΄ὔ Ν “ 
ὅταν πνεύσῃ μικρὸν πρὸ τροπῶν ἢ μετὰ τροπὰς 
χειμερινὰς ψυχρός: ἀποκάει “γὰρ τὰ δένδρα καὶ 
οὕτως ava ποιεῖ Kal ξηρὰ ὡς οὐδ᾽ ἂν ὑφ᾽ ἡλίου 
καὶ χρόνου πολλοῦ γένοιτ᾽ ἄν, δι’ ὃ καὶ καλοῦσι 
/ / / 
KkavO mov: ἐγένετο δὲ πρότερον πολλάκις ἤδη Kal 
7? / a 
ἐπ᾽ ᾿Αρχίππου δι᾽ ἐτῶν τετταράκοντα σφοδρός. 
al a / val 
Πονοῦσι δὲ μάλιστα τῶν τόπων οἱ κοῖλοι Kal 
a , \ \ 
οἱ αὐλῶνες Kal ὅσοι περὶ τοὺς ποταμοὺς Kal 
n / a / \ 
ἁπλῶς οἱ ἀπνευστότατοι" τῶν δένδρων δὲ μάλιστα 
a / \ 2 4 > ΄ \ Ὁ td 
συκῆ, δεύτερον δὲ ἐλάα. ἐλάας δὲ μᾶλλον ὁ 
, ’ Ν 
κοτινος ἐπόνησεν ἰσχυρότερος ὦν, ὃ καὶ θαυμαστὸν 
a \ a a 
ἦν: al δὲ ἀμυγδαλαῖ τὸ πάμπαν ἀπαθεῖς" ἀπαθεῖς 
id if / A / / 
δὲ καὶ at μηλέαι Kal αἱ ἄπιοι Kal ai poat ἐγένοντο" 
an 3 / 
δι’ ὃ Kal τοῦτο ἣν θαυμαστόν. ἀποκάεται δὲ 
3 \ 2 a , Ney, \ a \ 
εὐθὺς ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους, Kal ὅλως δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ 
7 a © Ν , fal 
πρότερον ὡς εἰπεῖν ἅπτεται «τὰ AVW> TOV κάτω. 
νὰ \ ’ Ni \ a \ \ 
φανερὰ δὲ γίνεται τὰ μὲν ἅμα περὶ τὴν βλάστησιν, 





1 Plin. 17. 232. 


2 τῶν κατὰ τούς τόπους conj. Sch. from Plin. l.c.3; τῶν καθ᾽ 


αὑτὰ Ald. 
3 ἔκπηξιν conj. Sch.; ἔκπληξιν UMP,Ald. ef. C.P. 5. 12. 2, 


πῆξις. 
ἐπ O.P. 612i 4, 


400 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xiv. 10-12 


pot-herbs, as also do caterpillars, though the origin 
of these is of course different. 

Such are in general the diseases, and the plants 
in which they occur. Moreover! there are certain 
affections due to season or situation ? which are likely 
to destroy the plant, but which one would not call 
diseases: I mean such affections as freezing? and 
what some call ‘scorching.’ Also’ there are winds 
which blow in particular districts that are likely to 
destroy or scorch; for instance the ‘Olympian’ 
wind of Chalcis in Euboea, when it blows cold a 
little before or after the winter solstice; for this 
wind scorches up the trees and makes them more 
dry and withered than they would become from the 
sun’s heat even in a long period ; wherefore its effect 
is called ‘scorching.’ In old times it occurred very 
frequently, and it recurred with great violence in 
the time of Archippus, after an interval of forty 
years. 

*The places which suffer most in this way are 
hollow places, valleys, the ground near rivers, and, in 
general, places which are least open to wind; the 
tree which suffers most is the fig, and next to that 
the olive. The wild olive, being stronger, suffered 
more than the cultivated tree, which was surprising. 
But the almonds were altogether unscathed, as also 
were the apples pears and pomegranates ; wherefore 
this too was a surprising fact. The tree gets scorched 
vy this wind right down to the trunk, and in general 
the upper are caught more and earlier than the lower 
parts.© The effects are seen partly at the actual 


Sef. ΟἿΣ 5:2. 7 see line 7. 232-and. 233; 
σ΄ κάτω UMVP; ἄνω W. after Sch.’s conj.: text probably 
defective ; I have added τὰ ἄνω. of. C.P. 5. 12. 5. 


401 


13 


14 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ἡ δὲ ἐλάα διὰ τὸ ἀείφυλλον ὕστερον" ὅσαι μὲν οὖν 
ἂν φυλλοβολήσωσιν ἀναβιώσκονται πάλιν, ὅσαι 
δ᾽ ἂν μὴ τελέως ἀπόλλυνται. map ἐνίοις δέ τίνες 
ἀποκαυθεῖσαι καὶ τῶν φύλλων αὐανθέντων ἀνε- 
βλάστησαν πάλιν ἄνευ τοῦ ἀποβαλεῖν καὶ τὰ 
φύλλα ἀνεβίωσεν. ἐνιαχοῦ δὲ καὶ πολλάκις 
τοῦτο συμβαίνει, καθάπερ καὶ ἐν Φιλίπποις. 

Τὰ δ᾽ ἐκπαγέντα, ὅταν μὴ τελέως ἀπόληται, 
τάχιστα ἀναβλαστάνει, ὥστε εὐθὺς τὴν ἄμπελον 
καρποφορεῖν, ὥσπερ ἐν Θετταλίᾳ. ἐν δὲ τῷ 

όντῳ περὶ Παντικάπαιον αἱ μὲν ἐκπήξεις 
γίνονται διχῶς, ὁ ὁτὲ μὲν ὑπὸ ψύχους ἐὰν χειμέριον 
ἦ τὸ ἔτος, ὁτὲ δὲ ὑπὸ πάγων ἐάν γε πολὺν χρόνον 
διαμένωσι. ἀμφότερα δὲ μάλιστα γίγνονται 
μετὰ τροπὰς περὶ τὰς τετταράκοντα. γίνονται 
δὲ οἱ μὲν πάγοι ταῖς αἰθρίαις, τὰ δὲ ψύχη μάλιστα 
ὑφ᾽ ὧν ἡ ἔκπηξις ὅταν αἰθρίας οὔσης αἱ λεπίδες 
καταφέρωνται. ταῦτα δ᾽ ἐστὶν ὥσπερ τὰ ξύσματα 
πλὴν πλατύτερα, καὶ φερόμενα φανερὰ πεσόντα 
δὲ οὐ διαμένει" περὶ δὲ τὴν Θράκην ἐκπήγνυνται. 

᾿Αλλὰ γὰρ αἱ μὲν νόσοι πόσαι τε καὶ ποῖαι καὶ 
τίνες γίνονται καὶ πάλιν αἱ δι’ ὑπερβολὴν 
χειμῶνος ἢ καυμάτων. φθοραὶ καὶ αἱ διὰ πνευ- 
μάτων ψυχρότητα ἢ θερμότητα διὰ τούτων 
θεωρείσθωσαν' ὧν ἐνίας οὐθὲν ἃ ἂν κωλύοι καὶ τοῖς 
ἀγρίοις εἶναι κοινὰς καὶ κατὰ τὴν ὅλην τῶν 
δένδρων φθορὰν καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον κατὰ τὴν τῶν 
καρπῶν" ὃ καὶ συμβαῖνον ὁρῶμεν: οὐκ εὐκαρπεῖ 





Δ Phim. ji Dae 
2 ἐκπαγέντα conj. Sch.; ἐκπλαγέντα U; ἐκπληγέντα Ald. 
3 ἐάν ye conj. Sch.; ἐὰν δὲ U; ἐὰν π. x. 5. γε Ald. 


402 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS IV. xiv. 12-14 


time of budding, but in the olive, because it is 
evergreen, they do not appear till later; those trees 
therefore which have shed their leaves come to life 
again, but those that have not done so are completely 
destroyed. In some places trees have been known, 
after being thus scorched and after their leaves have 
withered, to shoot again without shedding their 
leaves, and the leaves have come to life again. 
Indeed in some places, as at Philippi, this happens 
several times. 

1 Trees which have been frost-bitten,? when they 
are not completely destroyed, soon shoot again, so 
that the vine immediately bears fruit, for instance 
in Thessaly. In Pontus near Panticapaeum the 
frost-bite occurs in two ways, either just from cold, 
if the season is wintry, or from long® spells of 
frost; in either case this generally occurs in the 4 
forty days after the winter solstice. The frosts 
occur in fine weather, but the cold spells, which 
cause the frost-bite, chiefly when in fine weather the 
‘flakes’® fall; these are like filings, but broader, 
and can be seen as they fall, but when they have 
fallen, they disappear—though in Thrace they freeze 
solid. 

Let this suffice for consideration of the diseases, 
their number and nature, including the fatal effects 
of excessive cold and heat or of cold or hot winds. 
And it may well be that certain of these also affect 
wild trees, producing entire destruction of the tree 
and still more that of the fruit. Indeed we see this 
actually happen; for wild trees also often fail to 


4 περὶ conj. Sch., cf. C.P. 5. 12. 4; μετὰ UMVAId. 
5 λεπίδες conj. Scal. from G (squammulae); ῥεπίδες Ald. αἵ. 
Hdt. 4. 31. 


403 


THEOPHRASTUS 


oo a ᾽ » 4 , 
yap οὐδ᾽ ἐκεῖνα πολλάκις, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὁμοίως οἶμαι 
’, 
παρατετήρηται. 
\ ’ “ ¢ 
XV. Λοιπὸν δ᾽ εἰπεῖν ὅσα παραιρουμένων 
la / / a 
τινῶν μορίων ἀπόλλυται. κοινὴ μὲν δὴ πᾶσι 
lal a / n 
φθορὰ τοῦ φλοιοῦ περιαιρεθέντος κύκλῳ" πᾶν 
a / a 
yap ws εἰπεῖν οὕτως ἀπόλλυσθαι δοκεῖ πλὴν 
> / \ cf a 2 \ ΄ / 
ἀνδράχλη: καὶ αὕτη δὲ ἐάν τις τὴν σάρκα σφόδρα 
N / \ , 
πιέσῃ καὶ τὸν μέλλοντα βλαστὸν διακόψη" πλὴν 
’ » al al / \ > “- 
εἰ ἄρα φελλοῦ' τοῦτον yap φασι καὶ εὐσθενεῖν 
a / a Ὁ la) Μ \ 
μᾶλλον περιαιρουμένου δῆλον ὅτι τοῦ ἔξω Kal 
fo) \ A , a 
τοῦ κάτω πρὸς TH σαρκί, καθάπερ Kal τῆς avdpa- 
\ \ fa) a 
χλης. ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῦ κεράσου περιαιρεῖται καὶ 
a 2) / \ nm ͵ 2 & \ , 
τῆς ἀμπέλου καὶ τῆς φιλύρας, ἐξ οὗ τὰ σχοινία, 
AN ’ὔ; A / > > > e , 
καὶ μαλάχης TOV ἐλαττόνων, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὁ κύριος 
903 ¢ a > br wee) n aA \ > , 
οὐδ᾽ ὁ πρῶτος, GAN ὁ ἐπιπολῆς, ὃς Kal αὐτόματος 
banal « > / ἢ Ἁ 6 / / 
ἐνίοτε ἀποπίπτει διὰ τὴν ὑπόφυσιν θατέρου. 
Ν \ an a 
Kai yap φλοιορραγῆ ἔνια τῶν δένδρων ἐστίν, 
Ψ A us γ᾽ ἊΝ x e ΄ id / 
ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ avdpdyAn Kal ἡ πλάτανος. ὡς δέ 
” ΄ e / Ά e Wk 
τινες οἴονται, πάλιν ὑποφύεται νέος, ὁ δὲ ἔξωθεν 
/ / 
ἀποξηραίνεται καὶ ῥήγνυται καὶ αὐτόματος 
a > «ς 
ἀποπίπτει πολλῶν, GAN οὐχ ὁμοίως ἐπίδηλος. 
\ / 
φθείρονται μὲν οὖν, ὡς οἴονται, πάντα περιαιρου- 
’ ὃ , δὲ lal θᾶ \ δύ \ 
μένου, διαφέρει δὲ τῷ θᾶττον καὶ βραδύτερον καὶ 





Pin 17... oats οἿ. Ὁ Ὸ δὲ 15:1: 

ἌΟΡ ts ra 

3 βλαστὸν conj. Sch. from G ; καρπὸν UAld. H. 
‘ Plin. 17. 234-236. 


404 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xiv. 14-xv. 2 


produce a good crop of fruit ; but, I imagine, they 
have not been so well observed. 


Of the effects on trees of removing bark, head, heart-wood, 
roots, etc.; of various causes of death. 

XV. 1 Next we must mention what trees perish 
when certain parts are removed. All perish alike, if 
the bark is stripped off all round ; one may say that 
every tree, except the andrachne,? perishes under 
these circumstances; and this tree does so also, if 
one does violence to the flesh, and so breaks off the 
new growth? which is forming. However one 
should perhaps except the cork-oak; for this, they 
say, is all the stronger if its bark is stripped off, that 
is, the outer bark and also that which lies below it 
next the flesh—as with the andrachne. For the 
bark is also stripped from the bird-cherry the vine 
and the lime (and from this the ropes are made), 
and, among smaller plants, from the mallow; but in 
these cases it is not the real nor the first bark which 
is taken, but that which grows above that, which 
even of its own accord sometimes falls off because 
fresh bark is forming underneath. 

4In fact some trees, as andrachne and plane, have 
a bark which cracks.> As some think, in many cases 
a new bark forms ® underneath, while the outer bark 
withers and cracks and in many cases falls off of its 
own accord ; but the process is not so obvious as it is 
in the above mentioned cases. Wherefore, as they 
think, all trees are destroyed by stripping the bark, 
though the destruction is not in all cases equally 


5 of. C.P. 3. 18. 3. φλοιορραγῆ ἔνια conj. Mold.; φλοιορ- 
payia μία UMV; φυλλορογία μία Ald. 
δ ὑποφύεται conj. W.; ὑποφύει Ald. H. 


405 


THEOPHRASTUS 


“~ ka » \ , , 
μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον. ἔνια yap πλείω χρόνον δια- 
’ὔ / a \ / \ lol « \ 
μένει, καθάπερ συκῆ Kal φίχυρα καὶ δρῦς" οἱ δὲ 
\ a A fal \ \ 7 Ἀ 
καὶ ζῆν φασι ταῦτα, ζῆν δὲ καὶ πτελέαν καὶ 
’ a \ , \ / \ 
φοίνικα: τῆς δὲ φιλύρας Kal συμφύεσθαι τὸν 
\ A ral al i, », “ 
φλοιὸν πλὴν μικροῦ: τῶν δὲ ἄλλων οἷον πωροῦ- 
, \ , -“ 
σθαι καὶ ἰδίαν τινὰ φύσιν ἔχειν. βοηθεῖν δὲ 
πειρῶνται διαπλάττοντες πηλῷ καὶ περιδοῦντες 
φλοιοῖς καὶ καλάμοις καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις, ὅπως μὴ 
/ > / ’, 
ψύχηται μηδ᾽ ἀποξηραίνηται. καὶ ἤδη φασί που 
ἰναφῦναι, καθάπερ καὶ ἐν Ἡρακλείᾳ τῇ Τ' Ὶ 
ἀναφῦναι, πες ρακλείᾳ τῇ ἸἹραχινιίᾳ, 
\ a a \ a a Α͂ > aA \ 
Tas συκᾶς. δεῖ δὲ ἅμα TH τῆς χώρας ἀρετῇ καὶ 
a \ a 
τῇ τοῦ ἀέρος κράσει Kal TA ἐπιγιγνόμενα τοιαῦτα 
εἶναι: χειμώνων γὰρ ἢ καυμάτων ἐπιγινομένων 
σφοδρῶν εὐθὺς ἀπόλλυνται: διαφέρουσι δὲ καὶ 
e e \ \ \ ΄ 2 / a 
ai ὧραι: περὶ yap τὴν βλάστησιν ἐλάτης ἢ 
πεύκης, ὅτε καὶ λοπῶσι, τοῦ Θαργηλιῶνος ἢ 
a ἡ / a 
Σκιρροφοριῶνος ἄν τις περιέλῃ, παραχρῆμα ἀπ- 
όλλυται. τοῦ δὲ χειμῶνος πλείω χρόνον ἀντ- 
ral \ / al 
έχει Kal ἔτι μᾶλλον τὰ ἰσχυρότατα, καθάπερ πρῖ- 
\ / \ 
vos καὶ δρῦς" χρονιωτέρα yap ἡ τούτων φθορά. 
a \ , 7 
δεῖ δὲ καὶ τὴν περιαίρεσιν ἔχειν τι πλάτος, 
πάντων μὲν μάλιστα δὲ τῶν ἰσχυροτάτων" ἐπεὶ 
\ a ” 
ἄν TLS μικρὰν παντελῶς ποιήσῃ, οὐθὲν ἄτοπον TO 
N > ‘ /, / /, ΣΧ e 
μὴ ἀπόλλυσθαι" καίτοι φασί γέ τινες, ἐὰν ὁπ- 
“ / / > ’ b] \ “A 
οσονοῦυν, συμφθείρεσθαι πάντως" GAN ἐπὶ τῶν 
ἌΝ 
ἀσθενεστέρων τοῦτ᾽ εἰκός. ἔνια γὰρ κἂν μὴ 
A , ’, 
κύκλῳ περιαιρεθῇ φθείρεσθαί φασιν, ἃ καὶ 





1 καὶ add. W. (text defective in MSS. except U). 
406 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xv. 2-4 


rapid or complete. Some in fact, as fig lime and oak, 
survive for some time ; indeed some say that these 
recover, and also the elm and date-palm, and 
that the bark even of the lime almost entirely 
closes up again, while in other trees it forms as it 
were a callus and?! acquires a peculiar new character. 
Men try to help the tree by plastering it with mud 
and tying pieces of bark reeds or something of the 
kind about it, so that it may not take cold nor 
become dried up. And they say that the bark has 
been known to grow again; 2 for instance that that 
of the fig-trees at the Trachinian Heraclea did so. 
However this does not only depend on the quality of 
the soil and on the climate ; the other circumstances 
which ensue must also be favourable; for, if great 
cold or heat ensues, the tree perishes at once. The 
season also makes a difference. For if one strips the 
bark of a silver-fir or fir at the time when the buds 
are shooting during Thargelion or Skirrophorion,? at 
which season it is separable, the tree dies at once. 
If it is done however in winter, the tree holds out 
longer; and this is especially true of the strongest 
trees, such as kermes-oak and oak; these it takes 
longer to kill. However the piece stripped off must 
be of a certain breadth to cause the death of the 
tree, especially in the case of the strongest trees ; for, 
if one does it only a little, it is not surprising that 
the tree should not be killed; though some indeed 
say that, if it is done at all,‘ the tree certainly dies ; 
this however is probably true only of the weaker 
kinds. For some, they say, if they are in bad barren 


2 ἀναφῦναι conj. Scal. from G; φῦναι Ald. H. 
3 May-June. 
4 ὁποσονοῦν conj. Sch. from G ; ὁπωσοῦν Ald. 


407 


THEOPHRASTUS 


λυπρὰν ἔχει χώραν καὶ ἄτροφον. αὕτη μὲν Sn, 
καθάπερ εἴρηται, κοινὴ φθορὰ πάντων. 

p.@ ale Ἣν δὲ καλοῦσιν ἐπικοπὴν τῶν δένδρων, 
μόνον πεύκης ἐλάτης πίτυος φοίνικος, οἱ δὲ καὶ 
κέδρου καὶ κυπαρίττου φασί. ταῦτα γάρ, ἐὰν 
περιαιρεθῇ τὴν κόμην ἄνωθεν καὶ ἐπικοπτῇ τὸ 
ἄκρον, φθείρεται πάντα καὶ οὐ βλαστάνει, καθά- 
περ οὐδ᾽ ἐπικαυθέντα ἢ πάντα ἢ ἔνια. τὰ δ᾽ 
ἄλλα πάντα καὶ περικοπέντα βλαστάνει, καὶ 
ἔνιά γε καλλίω γίνεται, “καθάπερ ἡ ἐλάα. δια- 
φθείρεται δὲ τὰ πολλὰ κἂν σχισθῇ τὸ στέλεχος" 
οὐδὲν γὰρ ὑπομένειν δοκεῖ πλὴν ἀμπέλου καὶ 
συκῆς καὶ poas καὶ μηλέας" ἔνια δὲ κἂν ἑλκωθῇ 
καὶ μεῖξον καὶ βαθύτερον ἀπόλλυται. τὰ δ᾽ 
οὐδὲν πάσχει, καθάπερ ἡ πεύκη δᾳδουργουμένη, 
καὶ ἐξ ὧν δὴ τὰς ῥητίνας συλλέγουσιν, οἷον ἐλά- 
της τερμίνθου" καὶ γὰρ δὴ τούτων εἰς βάθος ἡ 
τρῶσις καὶ ἕλκωσις. καὶ γὰρ ἐξ ἀφόρων φοράδες 
γίνονται καὶ ἐξ ὀλιγοφόρων πολυφόροι. 

Τὰ δὲ καὶ πελέκησιν ὑπομένει καὶ ὀρθὰ καὶ 
πεσόντα ὑπὸ πνεύματος, ὥστε πάλιν ἀνίστασθαι 
καὶ ζῆν καὶ βλαστάνειν, οἷον ἰτέα καὶ πλάτανος. 
ὅπερ συνέβη καὶ ἐν ᾿Αντάνδρῳ καὶ ἐν Φιλίπποις" 
ἐκπεσούσης γὰρ ὡς ἀπέκοψαν τοὺς ἀκρεμόνας 
καὶ ἐπελέκησαν, ἀνεφύη νύκτωρ ἡ πλάτανος 
κουφισθεῖσα τοῦ βάρους καὶ ἀνεβίω καὶ ὁ φλοιὸς 
περιέφυ πάλιν. ͵παραπεπελεκημένη δ᾽ ἐτύγχανεν 
ἐκ τῶν δύο μερῶν: ἣν δὲ τὸ δένδρον μέγα μῆκος 


bY Phin 17. 250 πο 7: ΡΟ δ 1.8 
hepa ἘΣ [Ὁ 

3 ἄνωθεν καὶ conj. W.: καὶ ἄνωθεν Ald. 

« of 1.3. 3% 1140] 


408 





ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xv. 4-xv1. 2 


soil, die even if the bark is not stripped all round. 
This then, as has been said, is a universal cause of 
death. 

XVI. 1} The process which is called topping of 
trees is fatal only to fir silver-fir Aleppo pine? and date- 
palm, though some add prickly cedar and cypress. 
These, if they are stripped of their foliage at the 
top® and the crown is cut off, perish wholly and do 
not shoot again, as is the case with some, if not with 
all, if they are burnt. But all other trees shoot 
again after being lopped, and some, such as the 
olive, become all the fairer. However most trees 
perish if the stem is split ;° for no tree seems able to 
stand this, except vine fig pomegranate and apple; 
and some perish even if they are wounded severely 
and deeply. Some however take no harm ® from 
this, as the fir when it is cut for tar, and those trees 
from which the resins are collected, as silver-fir and 
terebinth ; though these trees are in fact then deeply 
wounded and mangled. Indeed they actually become 
fruitful’ instead of barren, or are made to bear 
plentifully instead of scantily. 

Some trees again submit to being hewn both 
when they are standing and when they have been 
blown down, so that they rise up again and live and 
shoot, for instance the willow and the plane. 8 This 
was known to happen in Antandros and at Philippi ; 
a plane in Antandros having fallen and had its boughs 
lopped off and the axe applied to its trunk, grew 
again in the night when thus relieved of the weight, 
and the bark grew about it again. It happened that 
it had been hewn two thirds of the way round; it 


Cf ὉΠ. 55 ΤΟ 5 lim: 17.238) S Cf i@eile..0. 10: Ὁ: 
1 popddes conj. Sch.; φορίδες Ald. ΕΠ 10.15.5: 


409 


THEOPHRASTUS 


μὲν μεῖζον ἢ δεκάπηχυ, πάχος δ᾽ ὥστε μὴ ῥᾳδίως 
ἂν περιλαβεῖν τέτταρας ἄνδρας. ἡ δὲ ἐν Φιλίπ- 
Tots iTéa περιεκόπη μὲν τοὺς ἀκρεμόνας, οὐ μὴν 
παρεπελεκήθη. μάντις δέ TLS ἔπεισεν αὐτοὺς 
θυσίαν τε ποιεῖσθαι καὶ τηρεῖν τὸ δένδρον ὡς 
σημεῖον ἀγαθὸν γεγονός. ἀνέστη δὲ καὶ ἐν 
ταγείροις ἐν τῷ μουσείῳ λευκὴ τις ἐκπεσοῦσα. 

Τῆς δὲ μήτρας ἐξαιρουμένης οὐθὲν ὡς εἰπεῖν 
φθείρεται δένδρον. σημεῖον δὲ ὅτι πολλὰ κοῖλα 
τῶν μέγεθος ἐχόντων δένδρων ἐστίν. οἱ δὲ περὶ 
᾿Αρκαδίαν φασὶ μέχρι τινὸς μὲν ξῆν τὸ δένδρον, 
τελέως δὲ ἐξ ἅπαντος ἐξαιρεθείσης καὶ πεύκην 
φθείρεσθαι καὶ ἐλατην καὶ ἄλλο πᾶν. 

Κοινὴ δὲ φθορὰ πάντων κἂν αἱ ῥίξαι περι- 
κοπῶσιν ἢ πᾶσαι ἢ αἱ πλεῖσται καὶ μέγισται 
καὶ κυριώταται τοῦ ζῆν. αὗται μὲν οὖν ἐξ 
ἀφαιρέσεως. 

Ἢ δ᾽ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐλαίου προσθέσει τινὶ μᾶλλον ἢ 
ἀφαιρέσει" πολέμιον γὰρ δὴ καὶ τοῦτο πᾶσι" καὶ 
ἔλαιον ἐπιχέουσι τοῖς ὑπολείμμασι, τῶν ῥιζῶν. 
ἰσχύει δὲ μᾶλλον τὸ ἔλαιον ἐν τοῖς νέοις καὶ ἄρτι 
φυομένοις" ἀσθενέστερα γάρ, δι’ ὃ καὶ ἅπτεσθαι 
κωλύουσι. 

Φθοραὶ δὲ καὶ ὑπ᾽ ἀχλήλων εἰσὶ τῷ παραι- 
ρεῖσθαι τὰς τροφὰς καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐμποδίξειν. 
χαλεπὸς δὲ καὶ ὁ κιττὸς παραφυύμενος, χαλεπὸς 
δὲ καὶ ὁ κύτισος: ἀπόλλυσι γὰρ πάνθ᾽ ws εἰπεῖν' 





1 τινὸς μὲν ζῆν τὸ δ. conj. W.; τινος ἐὰν (corrected) τοῦ δένδρου 
υ; τινος ἐξῃρέθη τοῦ 8. MVAId. 
® of. Phinv 17.958: CP. 6. 15,6; 


3 πᾶσι: καὶ ἔλαιον ἐπιχέουσι conj. Sch.; πᾶσιν ἔλαιον ἐπιχεύ- 


ovo UMP.Ald. 
410 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xvi. 2-5 


was a large tree, more than ten cubits high, and of 
such girth that four men could not easily have 
encircled it. The willow at Philippi which grew 
again had had its branches lopped off, but the trunk 
had not been hewn. A certain seer persuaded the 
people to offer sacrifice and take care of the tree, 
since what had occurred was a good omen. Also at 
Stageira an abele in the school gardens which had 
fallen got up again. 

Hardly any tree is destroyed by taking out the 
core ; a proof of which is the fact that many large 
trees are hollow. The people of Arcadia say that 
the tree under these circumstances lives for a time,! 
but that, if the tree is entirely deprived of its core, 
fir or silver-fir or any other tree perishes. 

All trees alike are destroyed when the roots are cut 
off, whether all or most of them, if those removed are 
the largest and the most essential to life. Such 
then are the causes of death which come from the 
removal of a part of the tree. 

On the other hand the destruction which oil ? 
causes is due rather to a kind of addition than to 
removal; for oil is hostile to all trees, and? so men 
pour it * over what remains of the roots. However 
oil is more potent with young trees which are just 
growing; for then they are weaker; wherefore men 
do not allow them to be touched at that time. 

> Again trees may destroy one another, by robbing 
them of nourishment and hindering them in other 
ways. Again an overgrowth of ivy® is dangerous,’ 
and so is tree-medick, for this destroys almost any- 

4 2,6. to complete the destruction of a tree. cf. Plut. 
Quaest. Conv. 2. 6. 2. 


5 Plin. 17. 239 and 240. OOM seine be 8 
T χαλεπὸς δὲ καὶ Ald.; χαλεπὸς δ᾽ ἐστὶν conj. W. 


ς 


THEOPHRASTUS 


, , \ 4 Ay oe > / BI 
ἰσχυρότερον δὲ τούτου TO ἅλιμον' ἀπόλλυσι γὰρ 
Ἀ / 
TOV κύτισον. 
/, A “- 
Ἔνια δὲ οὐ φθείρει μὲν χείρω δὲ ποιεῖ ταῖς 
δυνάμεσι τῶν χυλῶν καὶ τῶν ὀσμῶν, οἷον ἡ 
ἘΠῚ Nee / A ” > / 
papavos καὶ ἡ δάφνη τὴν ἄμπελον. ὀσφραίνεσθαι 
, ae ou. a Nee eee, ς \ 
yap φασι καὶ ἕλκειν. δι ὃ καὶ ὅταν ὁ βλαστὸς 
» / / > / \ > nr 
πλησίον γένηται πάλιν ἀναστρέφειν καὶ ἀφορᾶν 
e / ” a > a ? ὃ "ὃ δὲ 
ὡς πολεμίας οὔσης τῆς ὀσμῆς. Ανὸροκύδης ὃὲ 
καὶ παραδείγματι τούτῳ κατεχρήσατο πρὸς τὴν 
n / \ 
βοήθειαν τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ῥαφάνου γινομένην πρὸς 
\ ser ς > 4 \ 4 / 
Tov οἶνον, ws ἐξελαύνουσαν τὴν μέθην: φεύγειν 
\ \ \ la) \ ” \ 5 , « 
γὰρ δὴ καὶ ζῶσαν τὴν ἄμπελον τὴν ὀσμήν. αἱ 
n , \ / 
μὲν οὖν φθοραὶ πῶς τε γίνονται Kal πόσαι Kal 
rn an ὧν 
ποσαχῶς φανερὸν ἐκ τῶν προειρημένων. 


1 ἕλκει: lit. ‘draws it in’; cf. ἕλκειν ἀέρα, μέθυ, etc. 
2 of. C.P. 2.18. 4. ὁ βλαστὺς πλησίον conj. Dalec. from G ; 
ὁ πλησίον βλαστός Ald. H. 


412 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IV. xvi. 5-6 


thing. But halimon is more potent even than this, 
tor it destroys tree-medick. 

Again some things, though they do not cause 
death, enfeeble the tree as to the production of 
flavours and scents; thus cabbage and sweet bay have 
this effect on the vine. For they say that the vine 
scents the cabbage and is infected! by it. Wherefore 
the vine-shoot,? whenever it comes near this plant, 
turns back and looks away,’? as though the smell 
were hostile to it. Indeed Androkydes‘ used this 
fact as an example to demonstrate the use of cabbage 
against wine, to expel the fumes of drunkenness 
ἴον, ὃ said he, even when it is alive, the vine avoids the 
smell. It is now clear from what has been said 
how the death of a tree may be caused, how many 
are the causes of death, and in what several ways they 
operate. 

3 ἀφορᾶν conj. Sch.; εὐφορεῖν U; ἀφορεῖν Ald.; averti G; 
recedere Plin. l.c.; ἐκχωρεῖν conj. W. 

4 A medical man who preached temperance to Alexander ; 


cf. Plin. 14. 58; 17. 240. 
5 γὰρ δὴ καὶ conj. Dalec. from G; yap δεῖ καὶ Ald. 


413 





BOOK V 


E 


A A 
I. Περὶ δὲ τῆς ὕλης, ποία τέ ἐστιν ἑκάστη, 
, an ΄“ 
καὶ πόθ᾽ ὡραία τέμνεσθαι, καὶ πρὸς ποῖα τῶν 
ἔργων χρησίμη, καὶ ποία δύσεργος ἢ εὔεργος, καὶ 
Ui n , 
εἴ TL ἄλλο τῆς τοιαύτης ἱστορίας ἔχεται, πειρα- 
id nm 
τέον ὁμοίως εἰπεῖν. 
4 a ͵ an 4 
Ὡραῖα δὴ τέμνεσθαι τῶν ξύλων τὰ μὲν οὖν 
στρογγύλα καὶ ὅσα πρὸς φλοϊσμὸν ὅταν βλα- 
fe 4 , \ > , id 7% ͵ A ὃ) 
στάνῃ" τότε γὰρ εὐπεριαίρετος ὁ φλοιός, ὃ δὴ 
n ἴω x ς 
καλοῦσι λοπᾶν, διὰ τὴν ὑγρότητα τὴν ὑπογινο- 
a Qn ’ὔ 
μένην αὐτῷ. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα δυσπεριαίρετος καὶ 
, 
τὸ ξύλον μέλαν γίνεται Kal δυσειδές. τὰ δὲ 
τετράγωνα μετὰ τὸν λοπητόν' ἀφαιρεῖται γὰρ 
ς / \ / Ὁ. “ \ 
ἡ πελέκησις THY δυσείδειαν. ὅλως πᾶν πρὸς 
’ a 
ἰσχὺν ὡραιότατον οὐ μόνον πεπαυμένον τῆς 
βλαστήσεως ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐκπεπᾶναν τὸν 
\ Ἁ ee \ 
καρπόν. ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν φλοϊσμὸν ἀώροις οὗσιν 
’ , an 
ὡραίοις συμβαίνει γίνεσθαι τοῖς στρογγύλοις, 
σ΄ ΕῚ /, e φ on / > 
ὥστε ἐναντίαι αἱ ὧραι κατὰ συμβεβηκός. εὐ- 





1 Plin. 16. 188. ses) aoe ee 
3 δυσπεριαιρετός conj. Sch.; δυσπερικάθαρτος Ald. 


416 


BOOK V 


Or THE TIMBER OF VARIOUS TREES AND ITS USES. 


I. In like manner we must endeavour to speak of 
timber, saying of what nature is that of each tree, 
what is the right season for cutting it, which kinds 
are hard or easy to work, and anything else that 
belongs to such an enquiry. 


Of the seasons of cutting. 


1Now these are the right seasons for cutting 
timber :—for ‘round’ timber and that whose bark is 
to be stripped the time is when the tree is coming 
into leaf. For then the bark is easily stripped 
(which process they call ‘ peeling’ *) because of the 
moisture which forms beneath it. At a later time it 
is hard to strip,? and the timber obtained is black 
and uncomely. However square logs can be cut 
after the time of peeling, since trimming with the 
axe removes the uncomeliness. In general any wood 
is at the best season as to strength when it has not 
merely ceased coming into leaf, but has even ripened 
its fruit ; however on account of the bark-stripping 
it comes to pass that ‘round’ timber is in season 4 
when it is cut before it is ripe, so that, as it happens, 
the seasons are here reversed. Moreover the wood 


4 2,6. in practice the timber is cut before the ideally 
proper time. 


417 


THEOPHRASTUS 


, \ \ + LF / \ \ 
χρούστερα δὲ τὰ ἐλάτινα γίνεται κατὰ τὸν 
a / 
πρῶτον λοπήτοΟν. 
3 \ \ / > 
Ἐπεὶ δὲ μάλιστ ἢ μόνον περιαιροῦσι τὸν 
φλοιὸν ἐλάτης πεύκης πίτυος, ταῦτα μὲν τέμνεται 
τοῦ ἦρος" τότε γὰρ ἡ βλάστησις" τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ὁτὲ 
μὲν μετὰ πυροτομίαν, ὁτὲ δὲ μετὰ τρυγητὸν καὶ 
᾿Αρκτοῦρον, οἷον ἀρία πτελέα σφένδαμνος μελία 
ζυγία ὀξύα φίλυρα φηγός τε καὶ ὅλως ὅσα 
κατορύττεται" δρῦς δὲ ὀψιαίτατα, κατὰ χειμῶνα 
/ 
μετὰ TO μετόπωρον: ἐὰν δὲ ὑπὸ τὸν λοπητὸν 
τμηθῇ, σήπεται τάχιστα ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἐάν τε ἔμ- 
»ῳῃ vy \ / \ \ 5 
φλοίος ἐὰν τε ἀφλοιος" καὶ μάλιστα μὲν τὰ ἐν 
τῷ πρώτῳ λοπητῷ, δεύτερα δὲ τὰ ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ, 
a / 
τρίτα δὲ Kal ἥκιστα Ta ἐν τῷ TpiTw τὰ δὲ 
μετὰ τὴν πέπανσιν τῶν καρπῶν ἄβρωτα διαμένει, 
xX b / “ \ ¢ \ \ \ e / 
κἂν ἀλόπιστα 7° πλὴν ὑπὸ τὸν φλοιὸν ὑποδυό- 
a 4 \ 
μενοι σκώληκες ἐπιπολῆς ἐγγράφουσι τὸ στέλεχος, 
οἷς καὶ σφραγῖσι χρῶνταί τινες" ὡραῖον δὲ τμη- 
θὲν τὸ δρύϊνον ἀσαπές τε καὶ ἀθριπηδέστατον 
γίνεται καὶ σκληρὸν καὶ πυκνὸν ὥσπερ κέρας" 
πᾶν γὰρ ὅμοιόν ἐστιν ἐγκαρδίῳ: πλὴν τό γε τῆς 
/ Lal 
ἁλιφλοίου καὶ τότε φαῦλον. 
Συμβαίνει δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ὑπεναντίον, ὅταν τε 
/ 
κατὰ τὴν βλάστησιν τέμνωνται Kal ὅταν μετα 
τοὺς καρπούς. τότε μὲν γὰρ ἀναξηραίνεται τὰ 
/ \ > / \ / N \ 
στελέχη καὶ ov βλαστάνει τὰ δένδρα: μετὰ δὲ 
τοὺς καρποὺς παραβλαστάνει. δυστομώτερα δὲ 





ec ces Maoh ες 2 4 add. Sch. 

3 φηγός τε conj. Scal.; πηγός τε Ὁ; φηγόσιν τε); πηγόσιν 
τε MAId. 

4 κατορύττεται conj. Sch. from G3; ὀρύττεται Ald. ef. 5. 4. 8; 
as as 5 Plin. 16. 189. 


418 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V.1. 1-3 


of the silver-fir is of a better colour at the time! of 
the first peeling. 

But since they strip the bark of? hardly any trees 
except silver-fir fir and pine, these trees are cut in 
the spring ; for then is the time of coming into leaf. 
Other trees are cut sometimes after wheat-harvest, 
sometimes after the vintage and the rising of 
Arcturus, as aria (holm-oak) elm maple manna-ash 
sygia beech lime Valonia οὐκ, and in general 
all those whose timber is for underground use. 
The oak is cut latest of all,in early winter at the end 
of autumn. ‘If it is cut at the time of peeling, it 
rots almost more quickly than at any other time, 
whether it has the bark on or not. This is especially 
so if it is cut during the first peeling, less so during 
the second, and least during the third. What is cut 
after the ripening of the fruit remains untouched by 
worms, even if it has not peeled: however worms get 
in under the bark and mark the surface of the stem, 
and such marked pieces of wood some use as seals.® 
Oak-wood if cut in the right season does not rot and 
is remarkably free from worms, and its texture is 
hard and close like horn; for it is like the heart of a 
tree throughout, except that that of the kind called 
sea-bark oak is even at that time of poor quality.’ 

Again, if the trees are cut at the time of coming 
into leaf, the result is the opposite of that which 
follows when they are cut after fruiting: for in the 
former case the trunks dry up and the trees do not 
sprout into leaf,’ whereas after the time of fruiting 
they sprout at the sides. At this season however 


5 cf. Ar. Thesm. 427: θριπήδεστα σφραγίδια. 
* Cas ὃ. δ. 
8 βλαστάνει M; παραβλαστάνει W. with Ald. 


419 


THEOPHRASTUS 


διὰ τὴν σκληρότητα κατὰ ταύτην THY ὥραν. 
κελεύουσι δὲ καὶ δεδυκυίας τῆς σελήνης τέμνει" 
ὡς σκληροτέρων καὶ ἀσαπεστέρων γινομένων. 
ἐπεὶ δὲ αἱ πέψεις τῶν καρπῶν παραλλάττουσι, 
δῆλον ὅτι καὶ αἱ ἀκμαὶ πρὸς τὴν τομὴν παραλ- 
λάττουσιν' ἀεὶ γὰρ ὀψιαίτεραι ai τῶν ὀψικαρ- 
ποτέρων. δι’ ὃ καὶ πειρῶνταί τινες ὁρίζειν καθ᾽ 
ἑκάστην: οἷον πεύκην μὲν καὶ ἐλάτην ὅταν ὑπο- 
λοπῶσιν' ἔτε δὲ ὀξύαν καὶ φίλυραν καὶ σφέν- 
δαμνον καὶ ζυγίαν τῆς ὀπώρας: δρῦν δέ, ὥσπερ 
εἴρηται, μετὰ τὸ φθινόπωρον. φασὶ δέ τινες 
πεύκην ὡραίαν εἶναι τοῦ ἦρος, ὅταν γε ἔχη τὴν 
καλουμένην κάχρυν, καὶ τὴν πίτυν ὅταν ὁ βότρυς 
αὐτῆς ἀνθῇ. ποῖα μὲν οὖν ὡραῖα καθ᾽ ἕκαστον 
χρόνον οὕτω διαιροῦνται. πάντων δὲ δῆλον ὅτι 
βελτίω τὰ τῶν ἀκμαζόντων δένδρων ἢ τῶν νέων 
κομιδῆ καὶ γεγηρακότων: τὰ μὲν γὰρ ὑδατώδη, τὰ 
δὲ γεώδη. 

Πλείστας δὲ χρείας καὶ μεγίστας ἡ ἐλάτη καὶ 
ἡ πεύκη παρέχονται, καὶ ταῦτα κάλλιστα καὶ 
μέγιστα τῶν ξύλων ἐστί. διαφέρουσι δὲ ἀλλήλων 
ἐν πολλοῖς: ἡ μὲν γὰρ πεύκη σαρκωδεστέρα τε 
καὶ ὀλιγόϊνος: ἡ δ᾽ ἐλάτη καὶ πολύϊνος καὶ 
ἄσαρκος, ὥστε ἐναντίως ἑκάτερον ἔχειν τῶν 
μερῶν, τὰς μὲν Was ἰσχυρὰς τὴν δὲ σάρκα 





1 αἱ add. Sch. 

2 ὑπολοπῶσιν conj. Sch.; εἰ πέλειν εἰσι U; ὑπελεινεισιν MV ; 
ὑπελινῶσιν Ald. 

3 ταύτην conj. St.; καὶ τὴν Ald. H. 


420 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1. 3-5 


they are harder to cut because the wood is tougher 
It is also recommended to do the cutting when the 
moon has set, since then the wood is harder and 
less likely to rot. But, since the times when the 
fruit ripens are different for different trees, it is 
clear that the right moment for cutting also differs, 
being later for those! trees which fruit later. 
Wherefore some try to define the time for the 
cutting of each tree; for instance for fir and silver- 
fir the time is, they say, when they begin to peel?: 
for beech lime maple and zygia in autumn; for oak,? 
as has been said, when autumn is past. Some how- 
ever say that the fir is ripe for cutting in spring, 
when it has on τῷ the thing called “ catkin, 4 and the 
pine when its ‘cluster’® is in bloom. Thus they 
distinguish which trees are ripe for cutting at various 
times; however it is clear that in all cases the wood 
is better when the tree is in its prime than when it 
is quite young or has grown old, the wood of quite 
young trees being too succulent, and that of old ones 
too full of mineral matter. 


Of the wood of silver-fir and fir. 


Silver-fir and fir are the most useful trees and in 
the greatest variety of ways, and their® timber is 
the fairest and largest. Yet they differ from one 
another in many respects; the fir is fleshier and has 
few fibres, while the silver-fir has many fibres and is 
not fleshy, so that in respect of each component it is 
the reverse of the other, having stout fibres? but soft 


01. 1. bean Soe. δὲ. Ὁ: 

5 2,6. the male inflorescence. 

ὁ ταῦτα conj. Sch. from G; αὐτὰ Ald. H. 
ef. 3.19) je Blin, 16: 184: 


421 


THEOPHRASTUS 


μαλακὴν καὶ μανήν' δι ἢ τὸ μὲν βάρυ το δὲ 
κοῦφον" τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἔνδᾳδον τὸ δὲ ἄδᾳδον, ἡ ἧ καὶ 
6 λευκότερον. ἔχει δὲ καὶ ὄζους πλείους μὲν ἡ 
πεύκη, σκληροτέρους δὲ ἡ ἡ ἐλάτη πολλῷ, μᾶλλον 
δὲ καὶ σκληροτάτους πάντων" ἄμφω δὲ πυκνοὺς 
καὶ κερατώδεις καὶ τῷ χρώματι ξανθοὺς καὶ 
δᾳδώδεις. ὅταν δὲ τμηθῶσι, ῥεῖ καὶ ἐκ τῶν τῆς 
ἐλάτης καὶ ἐκ τῶν τῆς πεύκης ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον 
ὑγρότης καὶ μᾶλλον ἐκ τῶν τῆς ἐλάτης. ἔστι δὲ 
καὶ πολύλοπον ἡ ἐλάτη, καθάπερ καὶ τὸ κρόμυον" 
ἀεὶ γὰρ ἔχει τινὰ ὑποκάτω τοῦ φαινομένου, καὶ 
7 ἐκ τοιούτων ἡ ὅλη. δι᾽ ὃ καὶ τὰς κώπας ξύοντες 
ἀφαιρεῖν πειρῶνται καθ᾽ ἕνα καὶ ὁμαλῶς" ἐὰν γὰρ 
οὕτως ἀφαιρῶσιν, ἰσχυρὸὲξ ὁ κωπεών, ἐὰν δὲ 
παραλλάξωσι καὶ μὴ κατασπῶσιν ὁμοίως, ἀσθε- 
νής" πληγὴ yap οὕτως, ἐκείνως δ᾽ ἀφαίρεσις. ἔστι 
δὲ καὶ μακρότατον ἡ ἐλάτη καὶ ὀρθοφυέστατον. 
δι᾽ ὃ καὶ τὰς κεραίας καὶ τοὺς ἱστοὺς ἐκ ταύτης 
ποιοῦσιν. ἔχει δὲ καὶ τὰς φλέβας καὶ τὰς ivas 
8 ἐμφανεστάτας πάντων. αὐξάνεται δὲ πρῶτον 
εἰς μῆκος, ἄχρι οὗ δὴ ἐφίκηται τοῦ ἡλίου" καὶ 
οὔτε ὄζος οὐδεὶς οὔτε παραβλάστησις οὔτε πάχος 
γίνεται" μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα εἰς βάθος καὶ πάχος" 
οὕτως αἱ τῶν ὄζων ἐκφύσεις καὶ παραβλαστήσεις. 





1 τὸ μὲν γὰρ évd. conj. St. from G; ἐνδ. γὰρ Ald. 

hts 5.9. ἢ: 

8. κα. ἃ. 9. 7, μόνον οὐ διαφανεῖς, whence it appears that the 

epithet refers to colour. 

4 Plin. 16.195. δ᾽ t.e. the annual rings. ef.1. 5.2; 5. 5. 3. 
© cf. Hom. Od. 12. 172. 

7 κατασπῶσιν conj. W.; 3 κατὰ πᾶσιν UMV; κατὰ πάντα Ald. 
* ef. Pin. 7:6. Meroe 

19 ἐμφανέστατας conj. W.; εὐγενεστάτας Ald. 

1 δὲ conj. Sch.; καὶ UAld.H. 


422 


—— ee Ὁ 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1. 5-8 


tlesh of open texture. Wherefore the timber of the 
one is heavy, of the other light, the one! being 
resinous, the other without resin; wherefore also it 
is whiter. Moreover the fir has more branches, but 
those of the silver-fir are much tougher, or rather 
they are tougher than those of any other tree; * the 
branches of both however are of close texture, 
horny,? and in colour brown and like resin-glutted 
wood. 4 When the branches of either tree are cut, 
sap streams from them for a considerable time, but 
especially from those of the silver-fir. Moreover the 
wood of the silver-fir has many layers, like an onion : ὃ 
there is always another beneath that which is visible, 
and the wood is composed of such layers throughout. 
Wherefore, when men are shaving this wood to make 
oars,® they endeavour to take off the several coats one 
by one evenly: for, if they do this, they get a strong 
spar, while if they do the work irregularly and do 
not strip’ off the coats evenly, they get a weak one; 
for the process in this case is hacking instead of 
stripping. The silver-fir also gives timber of the 
greatest lengths and of the straightest growth ; 
wherefore yard-arms® and masts are made from it. 
Also the vessels® and fibre are more clearly !° seen in 
it than in any other tree. At first}! it grows in 
height only, until it has reached !* the sunshine; and 
so far there is no branch nor sidegrowth nor density 
of habit; but after that the tree proceeds to increase 
in bulk} and density of habit, as!* the outgrowing 
branches and sidegrowths develop. 


12 ἄχρι... ἐφίκηται conj. Sch.; ἄχρι οὗ δὴ κἀφίκηται U; 
ἄχρις οὐκ ἀφίκηται MV; ἄχρις οὗ ἀχίκηται Ald. H. 

15. δ΄. 4.1 A. 

14 Lit. ‘this being the effect of the outgrowth.’ maxos: 
οὕτως Ald.; πάχος, ὅταν conj. W. 


423 


9 


10 


11 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἴδια τῆς ἐλάτης, τὰ δὲ κοινὰ καὶ 
πεύκης καὶ ἐλάτης καὶ τῶν ἄλλων. ἔστι γὰρ ἡ 
μὲν τετράξοος ἡ δὲ δίξοος. καλοῦσι δὲ τετραξόους 
μὲν ὅσαις ἐφ᾽ ἑκάτερα τῆς ἐντεριώνης δύο κτη- 
δόνες εἰσὶν ἐναντίαν ἔχουσαι τὴν φύσιν. ἔπειτα 
καθ᾽ ἑκατέραν τὴν κτηδόνα ποιοῦνται τὴν πελέ- 
κησιν ἐναντίας τὰς πληγὰς κατὰ κτηδόνα φέρον- 
τες, ὅταν ἐφ᾽ ἑκάτερα τῆς ἐντεριώνης ἡ πελέκησις 
ἀναστρέφῃ. τοῦτο γὰρ ἐξ ἀνάγκης συμβαίνει 
διὰ τὴν φύσιν τῶν κτηδόνων. τὰς δὲ τοιαύτας 
ἐλάτας καὶ πεύκας τετραξόους καλοῦσι. εἰσὶ δὲ 
καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἐργασίας αὗται κάλλισται" πυκνό- 
τατα γὰρ ἔχουσι τὰ ξύλα καὶ τὰς αἰγίδας αὗται 
φύουσιν. αἱ δίξοοι δὲ κτηδόνα μὲν ἔχουσι μίαν 
ἐφ᾽ ἑκάτερα τῆς ἐντεριώνης, ταύτας δὲ ἐναντίας 
ἀλλήλαις, ὥστε καὶ τὴν πελέκησιν εἶναι διπλῆν, 
μίαν καθ᾽ ἑκατέραν κτηδόνα ταῖς πληγαῖς ἐναν- 
τίαις: ἁπαλώτατα μὲν οὖν ταῦτά φασιν ἔχειν 
τὰ ξύλα, χείριστα δὲ πρὸς τὰς ἐργασίας" δια- 
στρέφεται γὰρ μάλιστα. μονοξόους δὲ καλοῦσι 
τὰς ἐχούσας μίαν μόνον κτηδόνα' τὴν δὲ πελέ- 
κησιν αὐτῶν γίνεσθαι τὴν αὐτὴν ἐφ᾽ ἑκάτερα 
τῆς ἐντεριώνης" φασὶ δὲ μανότατα μὲν ἔχειν τῇ 
φύσει τὰ ξύλα ταῦτα πρὸς δὲ τὰς διαστροφὰς 
ἀσφαλέστατα. 

Διαφορὰς δὲ ἔχουσι τοῖς φλοιοῖς, καθ᾽ ἃς 

/ > 4 > \ ss Lg \ 
γνωρίζουσιν ἰδόντες εὐθὺς τὸ δένδρον πεφυκὸς 








1. Plin. 7.¢. 
2 The meaning of ‘ four-cleft’ etc. seems to be this: 


arg 4-Cleft. ey 2°Cleft: 4“ AeGlefe. 


424 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1. 9-11 


These are the characteristics peculiar to the silver- 
fir. Others it shares with the fir and the other trees 
of this class. 1For instance, sometimes a tree is 
‘four-cleft,’ sometimes ‘ two-cleft’; it is called “ four- 
cleft’ when on either side of the heart-wood there 
are two distinct and diverse lines of fissure: in that 
case the blows of the axe follow these lines in cases 
where the hewing is stopped short on either side of 
the heart-wood.? For the nature of the lines of fissure 
compels the hewing to take this course. Silver-firs 
or firs thus formed are said to be ‘ four-cleft.’ And 
these are also the fairest trees for carpentry, their 
wood being the closest and possessing the aigis.$ 
Those which are ‘two-cleft’ have one single line of 
fissure on either side of the heart-wood, and the lines 
of fissure do not correspond to each other, so that 
the hewing also is performed by cuts which follow 
the two lines of fissure, so as to reach the two sides 
of the heart-wood at different angles. Now such 
wood, they say, is the softest, but the worst for 
carpentry, as it warps most easily. Those trees which 
have only a single* continuous line of fissure are 
said to be ‘one-cleft,’ though here too the cutting 
is done from either side of the heart-wood: and such 
wood has, they say, an open ® texture, and yet ° it is 
not at all apt to warp. 

7 There are also differences in the bark, by obser- 
vation of which they can tell at once what the 

3 of. 3. 9. 8. 4 μίαν conj. W.; μίαν δὲ P,Ald. 

5 μανότατα conj. W.; μανότητα Ald. 


ὃ τὰ ξύλα... τὰς conj. Sch.; τὰ ξύλα: ταῦτα δὲ πρὸς τὰς 


ΑἸΙα.Η. 7 Plin. 16. 195 and 196. 
425 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ποῖόν τί é€oTl τῶν μὲν yap εὐκτηδόνων Kal 
ἀστραβῶν καὶ ὁ φλοιὸς λεῖος καὶ ὀρθός, τῶν 
δ᾽ ἐναντίων τραχύς τε καὶ διεστραμμένος" ὁμοίως 
δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν λοιπῶν. ἀλλ᾽ ἔστι τετράξοα 
μὲν ὀλίγα μονόξοα δὲ πλείω τῶν ἄλλων. ἅπασα 
δὲ ἡ ὕλη μείζων καὶ ὀρθοτέρα καὶ ἀστραβεστέρα 
καὶ στιφροτέρα καὶ ὅλως καλλίων καὶ πλείων 
ἡ ἐν τοῖς προσβορείοις, ὥσπερ καὶ πρότερον 
ἐλέχθη: καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ δένδρου δὲ τὰ πρὸς 
βορρᾶν πυκνότερα καὶ νεανικώτερα. ὅσα δὲ 
ὑποπαράβορρα καὶ ἐν περίπνῳ, ταῦτα στρέφει 
καὶ παραλλάττει παρὰ μικρὸν ὁ βορέας, ὥστε 
εἶναι παρεστραμμένην αὐτῶν τὴν μήτραν καὶ 

12 οὐ κατ᾽ ὀρθόν. ἔστι δὲ ὅλα μὲν τὰ τοιαῦτα 
ἰσχυρὰ τμηθέντα δὲ ἀσθενῆ διὰ τὸ πολλὰς ἔχειν 
παραλλαγάς. καλοῦσι δὲ οἱ τέκτονες ἐπίτομα 
ταῦτα διὰ τὸ πρὸς τὴν χρείαν οὕτω τέμνειν. 
ὅλως δὲ χείρω τὰ ἐκ τῶν ἐφύγρων καὶ εὐ- 
ιεινῶν καὶ παλισκίων καὶ συνηρεφῶν καὶ πρὸς 
τὴν τεκτονικὴν χρείαν καὶ πρὸς τὴν πυρευ- 
τικήν. αἱ μὲν οὖν τοιαῦται διαφοραὶ πρὸς τοὺς 
τόπους εἰσὶν αὐτῶν τῶν ὁμογενῶν ὥς γε ἁπλῶς 
εἰπεῖν. 

a. Διαιροῦσι γάρ τινες κατὰ τὰς χώρας, καί 
φασιν ἀρίστην μὲν εἶναι τῆς ὕλης πρὸς τὴν 
τεκτονικὴν χρείαν τῆς εἰς τὴν “Ελλάδα Tapa. 
γινομένης τὴν Μακεδονικήν' λεία τε γάρ ἐστι 
καὶ ἀστραβὴς καὶ ἔχουσα θυῖον. δευτέραν δὲ 
τὴν Ποντικήν, τρίτην δὲ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ ‘Puvddxou, 





1 πεφυκὸς : ef. Xen. Cyr. 4. 8. 5. 
3 ὑποπαράβορρα conj. St.; ὑπὸ παράβορρα Ald.; ὑπόβορρα ἢ 
παράβορρα conj. Sch. 


426 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V.1 11-1. 1 


timber of the tree is like as it stands.! For if the 
timber has straight and not crooked lines of fissure, 
the bark also is smooth and regular, while if the 
timber has the opposite character, the bark is rough 
and twisted; and so too is it with other points. 
However few trees are ‘four-cleft, and most of 
those which are not are ‘one-cleft.’ All wood, as 
was said before, which grows in a position facing 
north, is bigger, more erect, of straighter grain, 
tougher, and in general fairer and more abundant. 
Moreover of an individual tree the wood on the 
northward side is closer and more vigorous. But if 
a tree stands sideways to the north? with a draught 
round it, the north wind by degrees twists and con- 
torts? it, so that its core becomes twisted instead of 
running straight. The timber of such a tree while 
still in one piece is strong, but, when cut, it is weak, 
because the grain slants across the several pieces 
Carpenters call such wood ‘short lengths,’ because 
they thus cut it up for use. Again in general wood 
which comes from a moist, sheltered, shady or con- 
fined position is inferior both for carpentry and for 
fuel. Such are the differences, generally * speaking, 
between trees of the same kind as they are affected 
by situation. 
Of the effects on timber of climate. 


II. 5Someindeed make adistinction betweenregions 
and say that the best of the timber which comes into 
Hellas for the carpenter's purposes is the Macedonian, 
for it is smooth and of straight grain, and it contains 
resin: second best is that from Pontus, third that 

3 παραλλάττει conj. Dalec.; παραλλάγει U; παραλήγει Ald.; 


παραλυγίζει conj. H. Steph. 
4 ye conj. Sch.; δὲ Ald. δ Pin. 16. 1907 


427 


THEOPHRASTUS 


τετάρτην δὲ τὴν Αἰνιανικήν'" χειρίστην. δὲ τήν τε 
Παρνασιακὴν καὶ τὴν Εὐβοϊκήν' καὶ γὰρ ὀξώδεις 
καὶ τραχείας καὶ ταχὺ σήπεσθαι. περὶ δὲ τῆς 
᾿Αρκαδικῆς σκεπτέον. 

᾿Ισχυρότατα δὲ τῶν ξύλων ἐστὶ τὰ aola καὶ 
λεῖα: καὶ τῇ ὄψει δὲ ταῦτα κάλλιστα. ὀξώδη 
δὲ γίνεται τὰ κακοτροφηθέντα καὶ ἤτοι χειμῶνι 
πιεσθέντα ἢ καὶ ἄλλῳ τινὶ τοιούτῳ: τὸ γὰρ 
ὅλον τὴν πολυοζίαν εἶναι ἔνδειαν εὐτροφίας. 
ὅταν δὲ κακοτροφήσαντα ἀναλάβη πάλιν καὶ εὐ- 
σθενήσῃ, συμβαίνει καταπίνεσθαι τοὺς ὄξους 
ὑπὸ τῆς περιφύσεως" εὐτροφοῦν γὰρ καὶ αὐ- 
ξανόμενον ἀναλαμβάνει καὶ πολλάκις ἔξωθεν 
μὲν λεῖον 8 ξύλον διαιρούμενον δὲ ὀξῶδες 
ἐφάνη. δι᾽ ὃ καὶ σκοποῦνται τῶν σχιστῶν τὰς 
μήτρας: ἐὰν γὰρ αὗται ἔχωσιν ὄξους, ὀξώδη καὶ 
τὰ ἐκτός" καὶ οὗτοι χαλεπώτεροι τῶν ἐκτὸς καὶ 
φανεροί. 

Γίνονται δὲ καὶ αἱ σπεῖραι διὰ χειμῶνας τε 
καὶ κακοτροφίαν. σπείρας δὲ καλοῦσιν ὅταν ἢ 
συστροφή τις ἐν αὐτῇ μείζων καὶ κύκλοις περι- 
ἐχομένη πλείοσιν οὔθ᾽ ὥσπερ ὁ ὄξος ἁπλῶς οὔθ᾽ 
ὡς ἡ οὐλότης ἡ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ ξύλῳ: δι’ ὅλου γάρ 
πως αὕτη καὶ ὁμαλίζουσα: χαλεπώτερον δὲ 
τοῦτο πολὺ καὶ δυσεργότερον τῶν ὄζων. ἔοικε 
δὲ παραπλησίως καὶ ws ἐν τοῖς λίθοις ἐγγίνεσθαι 





1 A river which flows into the Propontis on the Asiatic 
side. 

2 Near Mount Oeta. Αἰνιανικήν conj. Palm. from Plin. 
| 6} αἰανικὴν P,Ald.H. 

8 ταῦτα κάλλιστα" ὀζώδη δὲ conj. Scal.; ταῦτα καὶ μάλιστα 
ὀζώδη γίν. Ald.H.; ταῦτα μάλιστα: ὀζώδη Ἢ γίν. Ὁ. 


428 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. π΄ 1-3 


from the Rhyndakos,! fourth that of the country 
of the Ainianes,? worst is that of Parnassus and that 
of Euboea, for it is full of knots and rough and 
quickly rots. As to Arcadian timber the case is 
doubtful. 


Of knots and ‘ coiling’ in timber. 


The strongest wood is that which is without knots 
and smooth, and it is also the fairest in appearance.® 
Wood becomes knotty when it has been ill nourished 
and has suffered severely whether from winter or 
some such cause; for in general a knotty habit is 
supposed to indicate lack of nourishment. When 
however, after being ill nourished, the tree recovers 
and becomes vigorous, the result is that the knots 
are absorbed‘ by the growth which now covers them ; 
for the tree, being now well fed and growing 
vigorously, recovers, and often the wood is smooth 
outside, though when split it is seen to have knots. 
And this is why they examine the core of wood that 
has been split; for, if this contains knots, the out- 
ward ὅ parts will also be knotty, and these knots are 
harder to deal with than the outer ones, and are 
easily recognised. 

6¢ Coiling’ of the wood is also due to winter or ill 
nourishment. Wood is said to ‘coil’ when there is 
in it closer twisting’ than usual, made up of an 
unusual number of rings: this is not quite like a knot, 
nor is it like the ordinary curling of the wood, which 
runs right through it and is uniform. ‘Coiling’ is 
much more troublesome and difficult to deal with than 
knots; it seems to correspond to the so-called 


4 καταπίνεσθαι : ? καταλαμβάνεσθαι. cf. below, §3. 
5 2,6. outward in regard to the core. 6 Plin. 16. 198. 
7 ἢ συστροφή conj. Scal.; f εὐστροφή U; ἣ εὐτραφῆ Ald. ete. 


429 


THEOPHRASTUS 


\ £ , “ > EN / 
Ta καλούμενα κέντρα. ὅτι δ᾽ ἡ περίφυσις κατα- 
λαμβάνει τοὺς ὄζους φανερώτατον ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς 
» / > \ b \ \ > a ” 
αἰσθήσεως, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ Kal ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων 
lal « x lal an 
TOV ὁμοίων: πολλάκις yap αὐτοῦ τοῦ δένδρου 
/ e \ / \ 
μερος TL συνελήφθη ὑπὸ θατέρου συμφυοὺς yevo- 
/ \ TA ᾽ 4 a / > ΄- 
μένου: καὶ ἐάν τις ἐκγχλύψας θῇ λίθον εἰς τὸ 
δένδρον ἢ καὶ ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτον, κατακρύπτεται 
\ € \ Qn / “ \ \ 
περιληφθὲν ὑπὸ τῆς περιφύσεως' ὅπερ καὶ περὶ 
τὸν κότινον συνέβη τὸν ἐν Μεγάροις τὸν ἐν τῇ 
ἀγορᾷ" οὗ καὶ ἐκκοπέντος λόγιον ἦν ἁλῶναι καὶ 
an , δ 
διαρπασθῆναι τὴν πόλιν: ὅπερ ἐγένετο. ... 
΄ δὴ 
Δημήτριος. ἐν τούτῳ γὰρ διασχιζομένῳ κνη- 
a ς / \ Μ > ” an » a 
μῖδες εὑρέθησαν καὶ ἄλλ᾽ ἄττα τῆς ᾿Αττικῆς 
la / 
ἐργασίας κρεμαστά, τοῦ κοτίνου ov ἀνετέθη τὸ 
lal / 4 
πρῶτον ἐγκοιλανθέντος. τούτου δ᾽ ἔτι μικρὸν 
/ a \ 7 
τὸ λοιπόν. πολλαχοῦ δὲ καὶ ἄλλοθι γίνεται 
, a a ’ “ 
πλείονα τοιαῦτα. καὶ ταῦτα μέν, ὥσπερ εἴρηται 
\ 
κοινὰ πλειόνων. 
\ J 
III. Kata δὲ tas ἰδίας ἑκάστου φύσεις at 
a / a¢ ΄ 
τοιαῦταί εἰσι διαφοραί, οἷον πυκνότης μανότης 
, / , 
βαρύτης κουφότης σκληρότης μαλακότης, ὡσαύ- 
\ \ v ” A \ \ δ , 
τως δὲ καὶ εἴ Tis ἄλλη τοιαύτη" κοιναὶ δὲ ὁμοίως 
“ / “ ’, 
αὗται καὶ τῶν ἡμέρων καὶ τῶν ἀγρίων, ὥστε περὶ 
/ 
πάντων λεκτέον. 





1 ὅτι δ᾽ ἡ conj. W.; ὅτι δὴ UMV; ὅτι δὲ Ald. 

2 ef. καταπίνεσθαι, above, § 2. 

3 Plin. 16. 198 and 199. 

ἐκγλύψας θῇ conj. W.; ἐκλύψας θῆι Ὁ ; ἐκλιθασθῇ Ald. H. 
Text defective. 

t.e. the bark had grown over these. cf. Plin. dc. 


430 


aon e 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. τι. 3-111. 1 


‘centres’ which occur in marbles, That! vigorous 
growth covers? up the knots is plain from simple 
observation of the fact and also from other similar 
instances. ?For often some part of the tree itself is 
absorbed by the rest of the tree which has grown 
into it; and again, if one makes a hole in a tree and 
puts? a stone into it or some other such thing, it 
becomes buried, being completely enveloped by the 
wood which grows all round it: this happened with 
the wild olive in the market-place at Megara ; there 
was an oracle that, if this were cut open, the city 
would be taken and plundered, which came to pass 
when Demetrius took 1.5 For, when this tree was 
split open, there were found greaves and certain 
other things ® of Attic workmanship hanging there, 
the hole’ in the tree having been made at the place 
where the things were originally hung on it as offer- 
ings. Of this tree a small part still exists, and in 
many other places further instances haye occurred. 
Moreover, as has been said, such occurrences happen 
also with various other trees. 


Of differences in the texture of different woods. 


III. 8 Corresponding to the individual characters of 
the several trees we have the following kinds of 
differences in the wood :—it differs in closeness, 
heaviness, hardness or their opposites, and in other 
similar ways; and these differences are common to 
cultivated and wild trees. So that we may speak of 
all trees without distinction. 

7 ἐργασίας κρεμαστὰ τοῦ κοτίνου ov I conj. from G and 
Plin. l.c. (certain restoration perhaps impossible) ; κερμηστι 8 
ἐστιν ἐν κοτίνῳ: οὗ U; Ald. has κερμηστὶ, M κρεμαστὶ, V κερ- 


μάστων ; St. suggested κρεμαστῶν ὅπλων as words of the 
original text, 8 Plin. 16. 204-207. 


431 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Πυκνότατα μὲν οὖν δοκεῖ καὶ βαρύτατα πύξος 
εἶναι καὶ ἔβενος" οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδ᾽ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος 
ταῦτ᾽ ἐπινεῖ. καὶ ἡ μὲν πύξος ὅλη, τῆς δὲ ἐβένου 
ἡ μήτρα, ἐν 7) καὶ ἡ τοῦ χρώματός ἐστι μελανία. 
τῶν δ᾽ ἄλλων ὁ λωτός. πυκνὸν δὲ καὶ ἡ τῆς δρυὸς 
μήτρα, ἣν καλοῦσι μελάνδρυον' καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἡ 
τοῦ κυτίσου: παρομοία γὰρ αὕτη δοκεῖ τῇ ἐβένῳ 
εἶναι. 

Μέλαν δὲ σφόδρα καὶ πυκνὸν το τῆς τερ- 
μίνθου" περὶ γοῦν Συρίαν μελάντερόν φασιν 
εἶναι TAS ἐβένου: καὶ ἐκ τούτου yap Kal τὰς 
λαβὰς τῶν ἐγχειριδίων ποιεῖσθαι, τορνεύεσθαι 
δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν καὶ κύλικας Θηρικλείους, ὥστε 

μηδένα ἂν διαγνῶναι πρὸς τὰς κεραμέας" λαμ- 

ΑἹ τῶν δὲ τὸ ἐγκάρδιον: δεῖν δὲ ἀλείφειν τὸ 
ξύλον: οὕτω γὰρ γίνεσθαι καὶ κάλλιον καὶ 
μελάντερον. 

Εἶναι δὲ καὶ ἄλλο τί δένδρον, ὃ ἅμα τῇ μελανίᾳ 
καὶ ποικιλίαν τινὰ ἔχει ὑπέρυθρον, ὥστε εἶναι 
τὴν ὄψιν ὡσὰν ἐβένου ποικίλης" ποιεῖσθαι δ᾽ ἐξ 
αὐτοῦ καὶ κλίνας καὶ δίφρους καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ 
σπουδαζόμενα. τὸ «δὲ» δένδρον μέγα σφόδρα 
καὶ καλόφυλλον. εἶναι ὅμοιον ταῖς ἀπίοις. 

Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἅμα τῇ ᾿μελανίᾳ καὶ πυκνο- 
TTA ἔχει. πυκνὸν δὲ καὶ ἡ σφένδαμνος καὶ 
ἡ ζυγία καὶ ὅλως πάντα τὰ οὗλα" καὶ ἡ ἐλάα 
δὲ καὶ ὁ κότινος, ἀλλὰ κραῦρα. μανὰ δὲ τῶν 
μὲν ἀγρίων καὶ ἐρεψίμων τὰ ἐλάτινα μάλιστα, 





1 ef. Arist. Meteor. 4. 7 ad fin. 
2.6f; oan, ef. 9.18: 9. 
4 Probably so called from their resemblance in shape and 


432 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. m. 1-3 


Box and ebony seem to have the closest and 
heaviest wood ; for their wood does not even float on 
water. This applies to the box-tree as a whole, and 
to the core of the ebony, which contains the black 
pigment.' The nettle-tree also is very close and heavy, 
and so is the core of the oak, which is called ‘heart 
of oak,’ and to a still greater degree this is true 
of the core of laburnum 2; for this seems to resemble 
the ebony. 

The wood of the terebinth is also very black and 
close-grained ; at least in Syria® they say that it is 
blacker than ebony, that in fact they use it for making 
their dagger handles; and by means of the lathe- 
chisel they also make of it ‘Theriklean’ cups,‘ so 
that no one could ὅ distinguish these from cups made 
of pottery ; for this purpose they use, it is said, the 
heart-wood, but the wood has to be oiled, for then 
it becomes comelier and blacker. 

There is also, they say, another tree® which, as 
well as the black colour, has a sort of reddish 
variegation, so that it looks like variegated ebony, 
and of it are made beds and couches and other things 
of superior quality. This tree is very large and has 
handsome leaves and is like the pear. 

These trees then, as well as the black colour, have 
close wood ; so also have maple zygia and in general 
all those that are of compact growth; so also have 
the olive and the wild olive, but their wood is 
brittle.” Of wild trees which are used for roof- 
timbers the wood of the silver-fir is the least com- 
colour to the cups made by Therikles, a famous Corinthian 
potter ; see reff. to comedy in LS. s.v. 

δ᾽ μηδένα ἂν conj. W.; μηδ᾽ ἂν ἕνα Ald. 


6 Sissoo wood. See Index App. (21). 
ἴ ἀλλὰ κραῦρα conj. Sch.; ἀλλὰ καὶ αὔρα MVAId. 


433 


THEOPHRASTUS 


τῶν δ᾽ ἄλλων τὰ ἄκτινα Kal τὰ σύκινα καὶ 
τὰ τῆς μηλέας καὶ τὰ τῆς δάφνης. σκλη- 
ρότατα δὲ τὰ δρύϊνα καὶ τὰ ζύγινα καὶ τὰ 
τῆς ἀρίας: καὶ γὰρ ὑποβρέχουσι ταῦτα πρὸς 
τὴν τρύπησιν μαλάξεως χάριν. μαλακὰ δὲ 
καθ᾽ ὅλου μὲν τὰ μανὰ καὶ χαῦνα: τῶν δὲ 
σαρκωδῶν “μάλιστα φίλυρα. δοκεῖ δὲ καὶ θερ- 
μότατον εἶναι τοῦτο: σημεῖον δὲ ὅτι μάλιστα 
ἀμβλύνει τὰ σιδήρια: τὴν γὰρ βαφὴν ἀνίησι διὰ 
τὴν θερμότητα. 

Θερμὸν δὲ καὶ κιττὸς καὶ δάφνη καὶ ὅλως 
ἐξ ὧν. τὰ πυρεῖα γίνεται: Μενέστωρ δέ φησι 
καὶ συκάμινον. ψυχρότατα δὲ τὰ ἔνυδρα καὶ 
ὑδατώδη. καὶ γλίσχρα δὲ τὰ ἰἐτέϊνα καὶ ἀμ- 
πέλινα, δι᾽ ὃ καὶ τὰς ἀσπίδας ἐκ τούτων ποιοῦσι" 
συμμύει γὰρ πληγέντα" κουφότερον δὲ τὸ τῆς 
ἰτέας, μανότερον γάρ, δι’ ὃ καὶ τούτῳ μᾶλλον 
χρῶνται. τὸ δὲ τῆς πλατάνου γλισχρότητα μὲν 
ἔχει, φύσει δὲ ὑγρότερον τοῦτο καὶ τὸ τῆς πτε- 
λέας. σημεῖον δέ ἐστιν, μετὰ τὴν τομὴν ὀρθὸν 
ὅταν σταθῇ, πολὺ ὕδωρ ἀφίησι. τὸ δὲ τῆς συκα- 
μίνου πυκνὸν ἅμα καὶ γλίσχρον. 

Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἀστραβέστατον τὸ τῆς πτελεας, 
δ ὃ καὶ τοὺς στροφεῖς τῶν θυρῶν ποιοῦσι 
πτελεΐνους" ἐὰν γὰρ οὗτοι μένωσι, καὶ αἱ θύραι 
μένουσιν ἀστραβεῖς, εἰ δὲ μή, διαστρέφονται. 
ποιοῦσι δ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἔμπαλιν τιθέντες τὰ ξύλα τό 
τε ἀπὸ τῆς ῥίζης καὶ τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ φύλλου: 


1 ὑποβρέχουσι conj. Harduin from Plin. 10. 207 ; ἀποβρίθουσι 
Ald.H.; ἀποβρέχουσι mBas. 

* ef. 5. 5. 1, which, referring to this passage, hardly agrees 
with it as now read. 


434 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V πι. 3-5 


pact, and among others that of the elder fig apple 
and bay. The hardest woods are those of the oak 
zygia and aria (holm-oak); in fact men wet! these 
to soften them for boring holes. In general, woods 
which are of open porous texture are soft, and of 
those of fleshy texture the softest is the lime. The 
last-named seems also to be the hottest; the proof 
of which is that it blunts iron tools more than any 
other; for they lose their edge? by reason of its 
heat. 

Ivy and bay are also hot woods, and so in general 
are those used for making fire-sticks ; and Menestor ® 
adds the wood of the mulberry. *The coldest woods 
are those which grow in water and are of succulent 
character. The wood again of willow and vine is 
tough; wherefore men make their shields of these 
woods ; for they close up again after a blow; but 
that of the willow is lighter, since it is of less com- 
pact texture; wherefore they use this for choice. 
The wood of the plane is fairly tough, but it is 
moister in character, as also is that of the elm. A 
proof of this is that, if it is set upright® after being 
cut, it discharges much water.6 The wood of the 
mulberry is at once of close grain and tough. 

7 The wood of the elm is the least likely to warp ; 
wherefore they make the ‘hinges’ ® of doors out of 
elm wood ; for, if these hold, the doors also keep in 
place; otherwise they get wrenched out of place. 
They make the ‘hinges’ by putting wood from the 
root above® and wood “ from the foliage’ below,® thus 

3 of. 1,2. 3n. 4 Plin. 16. 209. 

5 ὀρθὸν ὅταν conj. W.: soG; ὀρθὸς ὅταν MV; ὅταν ὀρθὰ Ald. 

ὁ of.5.1.6. 7 Plin. 16. 210. 


8 Sc. an arrangement of cylindrical pivot and socket. 
"δε. as socket and pivot respectively ; cf. 5. 5. 4. 


435 


THEOPHRASTUS 


a eee e / a 
καλοῦσι δὲ οἱ τέκτονες TO ἀπὸ TOD φύλλου TO 
» > / \ >) / e / 
ἄνω: ἐναρμοσθέντα yap ἀλλήλοις ἑκάτερον Kw- 
\ e \ 
λύει πρὸς τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐναντίως ἔχον. εἰ δὲ ἔκειτο 
V4 - \ lal 
κατὰ φύσιν, οὗπερ ἡ ῥοπὴ ἐνταῦθα πάντων ἂν 
4 e VA 
ἣν ἡ φορά. 
\ \ is 3 ᾽ \ “ > \ 
Tas δὲ θύρας οὐκ εὐθὺς συντελοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ 
πήξαντες ἐφιστᾶσι, κἄπειτα ὑστέρῳ οἱ δὲ τῷ 
/ yy / aN an / 
τρίτῳ ἔτει συνετέλεσαν ἐὰν μᾶλλον σπουδάζωσι: 
an \ \ / / of. 
τοῦ μὲν yap θέρους ἀναξηραινομένων διΐστανται, 
fa) a / ht κὰν “ 
τοῦ δὲ χειμῶνος συμμύουσιν. αἴτιον δ᾽ ὅτι τῆς 
᾽ / \ x \ J . A 5. ἢ 
ἐλάτης τὰ μανὰ καὶ σαρκώδη ἕλκει τὸν ἀέρα 
ἔνικμον ὄντα. 
a \ Qn lal \ / 
O δὲ φοῖνιξ κοῦφος καὶ evepyos καὶ μαλακός, 
ς / / la no / 
ὥσπερ ὁ perros, βελτίων δὲ τοῦ φελλοῦ ὅτι γλί- 
an \ a \ 
σχρος" ἐκεῖνο δὲ θραυστόν. διὰ τοῦτο τὰ εἴδωλα 
la} > n lal / a \ \ \ 
νῦν ἐκ τοῦ τῶν φοινίκων ποιοῦσι, Tov δὲ φελλὸν 
/ \ ων \ > ae ” οὐ ων. \ 
παρήκασι. τὰς ἶνας δὲ ov du ὅλου ἔχει OVO ἐπὶ 
\ \ fal 
πολὺ καὶ μακρὰς οὐδ᾽ ὡσαύτως TH θέσει ἐγκει- 
/ \ a 
μένας πάσας ἀλλὰ παντοδαπῶς. ἀναξηραίνεται 
, / \ 
δὲ καὶ λεαινόμενον Kal πριόμενον TO ξύλον. 
\ / e a 
To δὲ θύον, οἱ δὲ θύαν καλοῦσι, Tap Αμμωνι 
/ \ ᾽ a / \ \ \ 
TE γίνεται καὶ ἐν TH Κυρηναίᾳ, τὴν μὲν μορφὴν 
uA \ a / \ a / 
ὅμοιον κυπαρίττῳ καὶ τοῖς κλάδοις Kal τοῖς PUA- 
\ a / \ fal A a ’ 
λοις καὶ τῷ στελέχει καὶ τῷ καρπῷ, μᾶλλον ὃ 
7, 
ὥσπερ κυπάριττος ἀγρία' πολὺ μὲν καὶ ὅπου 





1 κωλύει : Sch. adds θάτερον from G. 

2 ἔκειτο conj. W.; ἐκεῖνο Ald, 

3 2.6. the ‘upper’ wood in the upper position. 

4 πάντων MSS. (3) ; πάντως conj. W. 

5 7.e. there would be no resistance. ἦν after ἂν add. Sch. 


436 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 11. 5-7 


reversing the natural position: (by wood ‘ from the 
foliage’ joiners mean the upper wood). For, when 
these are fitted the one into the other, each counter- 
acts! the other, as they naturally tend in opposite 
directions: whereas, if the wood were set? as it 
grows,* all the parts* would give where the strain 
came.° 

(They do not finish off the doors at once ; but, when 
they have put them together, stand them up, and 
then finish them off the next year, or sometimes the 
next year but one, if they are doing specially good 
work. For in summer, as the wood dries, the work 
comes apart, but it closes in winter. The reason is 
that the open fleshy texture of the wood of 
the silver-fir’ drinks in the air, which is full of 
moisture.) 

8 Palm-wood is light easily worked and soft like 
cork-oak, but is superior to that wood, as it is tough, 
while the other is brittle. Wherefore men now make 
their images of palm-wood and have given up the 
wood of cork-oak. However the fibres do not run 
throughout the wood, nor do they run to a good 
length, nor are they all set symmetrically, but run 
in every direction. The wood dries while it is being 
planed and sawn. 

9 Thyon (thyine wood), which some call thya, grows 
near the temple of Zeus Ammon and in the district 
of Cyrene. In appearance the tree is like the 
cypress alike in its branches, its leaves, its stem, and 
its fruit ; or rather it is like a wild cypress.!° There 


Clef. Elin: 1G; Zio: 

7 Of which the door itself is made. 

2 Phin 16,210: ® Plin. 13. 100-102. 

10 κυπάριττος ἀγρία conj. Sch.; κυπάρισσον ἀγρίαν MAId. 


437 


THEOPHRASTUS 


a e , > / \ ” , 
νῦν ἡ πόλις ἐστί, καὶ ἔτι διαμνημονεύουσιν 
a \ 
ὀροφάς τινας τῶν ἀρχαίων οὔσας. ἀσαπὲς yap 
“ A 7 > / \ \ £7 > ’ Ν 
ὅλως τὸ ξύλον οὐλότατον δὲ τὴν ῥίζαν ἐστί" καὶ 
\ a a 
ἐκ ταύτης τὰ σπουδαιότατα ποιεῖται τῶν ἔργων. 
τὰ δὲ ἀγάλματα γλύφουσιν ἐκ τῶνδε, κέδρων 
/ “ / \ ? > / \ > 
κυπαρίττου λωτοῦ TVEOU: τὰ δ᾽ ἐλάττω Kal ἐκ 
τῶν ἐλαΐνων ῥιζῶν: ἀρραγεῖς γὰρ αὗται καὶ 
ὁμαλῶς πως σαρκώδεις. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἰδιό- 
’ \ 4 / 
τητά τινα τόπων Kal φύσεως Kal γχρείας 
ἀποδηλοῖ. 
“ a a a ͵ 
IV. Βαρέα δὲ καὶ κοῦφα δῆλον ὡς τῇ πυκνό- 
/ / / 
τητι καὶ μανότητι Kal ὑγρότητι Kal ξηρότητι καὶ 
a / / ‘ , 
τῷ γλοιώδει Kal σκληρότητι καὶ μαλακότητι 
/ ” \ 2 ¢ \ \ 7 
ληπτέον. ἔνια μὲν οὖν ἅμα σκληρὰ καὶ βαρέα, 
καθάπερ πύξος καὶ δρῦς: ὅσα δὲ κραῦρα καὶ τῇ 
Ces} 
Enpotntt σκληρότατα, ταῦτ᾽ οὐκ ἔχει βάρος. 
\ a 
ἅπαντα δὲ Ta ἄγρια τῶν ἡμέρων καὶ TA ἄρρενα 
a a / / / 
τῶν θηλειῶν πυκνότερά TE καὶ σκληρότερα Kai 
/ 
βαρύτερα Kai TO ὅλον ἰσχυρότερα, καθάπερ καὶ 
πρότερον εἴπομεν. ὡς δ᾽ ἐπὶ τὸ πᾶν καὶ τὰ 
, lal ’ \ / lal 
ἀκαρπότερα τῶν καρπίμων καὶ τὰ χείρω τῶν 
καλλικαρποτέρων' εἰ μή που καρπιμώτερον τὸ 
Μ Ὁ » ’ \ \ / 
ἄρρεν, ὥσπερ ἄλλα TE φασι Kal τὴν κυπάριττον 
\ Ἁ rf > \ a b) , 
καὶ τὴν κράνειαν. ἀλλὰ τῶν γε ἀμπέλων φα- 
“ , 
νερῶς αἱ ὀλιγοκαρπότεραι Kal πυκνοφθαλμότεραι 
\ ΄ Ν a \ \ a » 
καὶ στερεωτεραι" καὶ μηλεὼν δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων 
ἡμέρων. 


438 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1. 7-1v. 1 


is abundance of it where now the city stands, and 
men can still recall that some of the roofs in ancient 
times were made of it. For the wood is absolutely 
proof against decay, and the root is of very compact 
texture, and they make of it the most valuable 
articles. Images are carved from these woods, 
prickly cedar cypress nettle-tree box, and the small 
ones also from the roots of the olive, which are 
unbreakable and of a more or less uniformly fleshy 
character. The above facts illustrate certain 
special features of position, natural character and 
use, 


Of differences in timber as to hardness and heaviness. 


IV. Difference in weight is clearly to be determined 
by closeness or openness of texture, dampness or 
dryness, degree of glutinousness, hardness or softness. 
Now some woods are both hard and heavy, as box 
and oak, while those that are brittle and hardest 
owing to their dryness, are not heavy. ! All wood of 
wild trees, as we have said before, is closer harder 
heavier, and in general stronger than that of the 
cultivated forms, and there is the same difference 
between the wood of ‘male’ and of ‘female’ trees, 
and in general between trees which bear no fruit and 
those which have fruit, and between those which 
bear inferior fruit and those whose fruit is better; on 
the other hand occasionally the ‘male’ tree is the 
more fruitful, for instance, it is said, the cypress the 
cornelian cherry and others. However of vines it is 
clear that those which bear less fruit have also more 
frequent knots and are more solid,? and so too with 
apples and other cultivated trees. 


1 Plin, 16, 211. 2 fC. P. 3311. 1. 
439 


THEOPHRASTUS 


᾿Ασαπῆ δὲ φύσει κυπάριττος κέδρος ἔβενος 
/ 
λωτὸς πύξος ἐλάα κότινος πεύκη ἔνδᾳδος apia 
“ “ ’ὔ 
δρῦς καρύα Εὐβοϊκή. τούτων δὲ χρονιώτατα 
a / 3 an 3 ᾽ / 
δοκεῖ τὰ κυπαρίττινα εἶναι: Ta γοῦν ἐν ᾿Εφέσῳ, 
“ / , 
ἐξ ὧν ai θύραι τοῦ νεωστὶ vew, τεθησαυρισμένα 
/ Ν , 
τέτταρας ἔκειτο γενεάς. μόνα δὲ καὶ στιλβηδόνα 
> \ fal 
δέχεται, δι’ ὃ Kal τὰ σπουδαζόμενα τῶν ἔργων ἐκ 
val an / / 
τούτων ποιοῦσι. τῶν δὲ ἄλλων ἀσαπέστατον 
\ 
μετὰ τὰ κυπαρίττινα Kal τὰ θυώδη τὴν συκά- 
/ > x 7 ν 
μινον εἶναί φασι, καὶ ἰσχυρὸν ἅμα καὶ εὔεργον τὸ 
ξύλον: γίνεται δὲ τὸ ξύλον [καὶ] παλαιούμενον 
t 
μέλαν, ὥσπερ λωτός. 
i 
"Ett δὲ ἄλλο πρὸς ἄλλο Kal ἐν ἄλλῳ ἀσαπές, 
a / a \ 
οἷον πτελέα μὲν ἐν TO ἀέρι, δρῦς δὲ κατορυτ- 
\ > a “ / a 
τομένη Kal ἐν τῷ ὕδατι καταβρεχομένη" δοκεῖ 
¢e 5 τς > \ 
yap ὅλως ἀσαπὲς εἶναι" δι᾿ ὃ καὶ εἰς τοὺς ποτα- 
\ ¥. 2 7 “, 
μοὺς καὶ εἰς τὰς λίμνας ἐκ τούτων ναυπηγοῦσιν' 
a \ \ 
ἐν δὲ τῇ θαλάττῃ σήπεται. Ta δὲ ἄλλα διαμένει 
n ¢ \ / a 
μᾶλλον, ὅπερ καὶ εὔλογον, ταριχευόμενα TH 
ἅλμῃ. 
A \ \ ς ’ 7 Ν \ Ὁ“ ᾽ \ 
Δοκεῖ δὲ καὶ ἡ ὀξύη πρὸς τὸ ὕδωρ ἀσαπὴς 
* \ , , , Neb se 
εἶναι καὶ βελτίων γίνεσθαι βρεχομένη. Kal ἡ 
/ Nog se > o \ b / \ \ \ \ 
καρύα δὲ ἡ Εὐβοϊκὴ ἀσαπής. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὴν 
/ ᾿ / n Ὁ \ , ᾽ / 
πεύκην ἐλάτης μᾶλλον ὑπὸ τερηδόνος ἐσθίεσθαι:" 
Ν \ * \ / 
τὴν μὲν yap εἷναι ξηράν, τὴν δὲ πεύκην ἔχειν 
΄ \ @ > / a vA 
YAUKUTNTA, καὶ ὁσῳ ἐνδᾳδωτέρα, μᾶλλον: πάντα 


Δ Phin. 10. 213, 
2 τεθησαυρισμένα. .. ἔκειτο conj. Bentley; τεθησαυρισμένα 


... ἔκειντο Ald.H.; P has ἔκειτο 


440 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. ιν. 2-4 


Of differences in the keeping quality of timber. 


1 Naturally proof against decay are cypress prickly 
cedar ebony nettle-tree box olive wild olive resinous 
fir aria (holm-oak) oak sweet chestnut. Of these the 
wood of the cypress seems to last longest; at least 
the cypress-wood at Ephesus, of which the doors 
of the modern temple were made, lay stored up? 
for four generations. And this is the only wood 
which takes a fine polish, wherefore they make of it 
valuable articles. Of the others the least liable to 
decay after the wood of the cypress and thyine-wood 
is, they say, that of the mulberry, which is also 
strong and easily worked : when it becomes old, this 
wood turns black like that of the nettle-tree. 

3 Again whether a given wood is not liable to 
decay may depend on the purpose to which it is put 
and the conditions to which it is subjected : thus the 
elm does not decay if exposed to the air, nor the oak 
if it is buried or soaked in water ; for it appears to be 
entirely proof against decay: wherefore they build 
vessels of it for use on rivers and on lakes, but in sea- 
water it rots, though other woods last all the 
better ; which is natural, as they become seasoned with 
the brine. 

*The beech also seems to be proof against decay in 
water and to be improved by being soaked. The 
sweet chestnut under like treatment is also proof 
against decay. ‘They say that the wood of the fir 
is more liable to be eaten by the ¢eredon than that 
of the silver-fir; for that the latter is dry, while the 
fir has a sweet taste, and that this is more so, the 
more the wood is soaked with resin®; they go on to 


3 Plin. 16. 218. 4 Plin. 16, 218 and 219, 
S cfr 8: 91. 4, 


441 


THEOPHRASTUS 


δ᾽ ἐσθίεσθαι τερηδόνι πλὴν κοτίνου και ἐλάας: 
\ 


τὰ δὲ οὔ, διὰ τὴν πικρότητα. ἐσθίεται δὲ τὰ μὲν 
ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ σηπόμενα ὑπὸ τερηδόνος, τὰ δ᾽ ἐν 
τῇ γῇ ὑπὸ σκωλήκων καὶ ὑπὸ θριπῶν' οὐ yap 
γίνεται τερηδὼν ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ. ἔστι δὲ 
ἡ τερηδὼν τῷ μὲν μεγέθει μικρόν, κεφαλὴν δ᾽ ἔχει 
μεγάλην καὶ ὀδόντας" οἱ δὲ θρίπες ὅμοιοι τοῖς 
σκώληξιν, ὑφ᾽ ὧν τιτραίνεται κατὰ μικρὸν τὰ 
ξύλα. καὶ ἔστι ταῦτα εὐΐατα' πιττοκοπηθέντα 
yap ὅταν εἰς τὴν θάλατταν ἑλκυσθῇ στέγει: τὰ 
δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν τερηδόνων ἀνίατα. τῶν δὲ σκωλήκων 
τῶν ἐν τοῖς ξύλοις οἱ μέν εἰσιν ἐκ τῆς οἰκείας 
σήψεως, οἱ δ᾽ ἐντικτόντων ἑτέρων: ἐντίκτει γάρ, 
ὥσπερ καὶ τοῖς δένδροις, ὁ κεράστης καλούμενος, 
ὅταν τιτράνῃ καὶ κουλάνῃ περιστραφεὶς ὡσπερεὶ 
μυοδόχον. φεύγει δὲ τά τε ὀσμώδη καὶ πικρὰ καὶ 
σκληρὰ διὰ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι τιτρᾶναι, καθάπερ 
τὴν πύξον. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐλάτην φλοϊσθεῖσαν 
ὑπὸ τὴν βλάστησιν ἀσαπῆ διαμένειν ἐν τῷ ὕδατι: 
φανερὸν δὲ γενέσθαι ἐν Φενεῷ τῆς ᾿Αρκαδίας, ὅτε 
αὐτοῖς ἐλιμνώθη τὸ πεδίον φραχθέντος τοῦ βερέ.- 
θρου" τότε γὰρ τὰς γεφύρας ποιοῦντες ἐλατίνας 
καί, ὅταν ἐπαναβαίνῃ τὸ ὕδωρ, ἄλλην καὶ ἄλλην 
ἐφιστάντες, ὡς ἐρράγη καὶ ἀπῆλθε, πάντα εὑρε- 
θῆναι τὰ ξύλα ἀσαπῆ. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἐκ συμ- 
πτώματος. 


1 Plin. 16. 220 and 221. 

2 τιτραίνεται conj. Scal. from (ἃ ; titpeverar UVO.3 πεπαινεται 
MV Ald. 2 cf A;.14, δὶ 

4 ὡσπερεὶ μυοδόχον conj. W.; ὥσπερ of μυόχοδοι MSS.; G 
omits. The word μυοδόχος does not occur elsewhere as a 
subst. 


442 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. rv. 4-6 


say that all woods are eaten by the teredon excent 
the olive, wild or cultivated, and that these woods 
escape because of their bitter taste. 1! Now woods 
which decay in sea-water are eaten by the teredon, 
those which decay on land by the skolex and thrips ; 
for the feredon does not occur except in the sea. 
It is a creature small in size, but has a large head 
and teeth; the thrips resembles the skolex, and these 
creatures gradually bore through ? timber. The harm 
that these do is easy to remedy; for, if the wood is 
smeared with pitch, it does not let in water when it 
is dragged down into the sea; but the harm done by 
the teredon cannot be undone. Of the skolekes which 
occur in wood some come from the decay of the wood 
itself,some from other skolekes which engender therein. 
For these produce their young in timber, as the worm 
called the ‘ horned worm’ ὅ does in trees, having bored 
and scooped out a sort of mouse-hole‘ by turning 
round and round. But it avoids wood which has a 
strong smell or is bitter or hard, such as boxwood, 
since it is unable to bore through it. They say too 
that the wood of the silver-fir, if barked just before 
the time of budding, remains in water without de- 
caying, and that this was clearly seen at Pheneos 
in Arcadia, when their plain was turned into a Jake 
since the outlet was blocked ἀρ. For at that 
time they made® their bridges of this wood, and, 
as the water rose, they placed more and more atop 
of them, and, when the water burst its way through 
and disappeared, all the wood was found to be 
undecayed. This fact then became known by means 
of an accident. 


5 of. 3.1.2. φραχθέντος conj. Sch.; βραχέντος Ald. H. 
6 ποιοῦντες, ἐφιστάντες nom. pendens, 


443 


7 


THEOPHRASTUS 


na tal \ , 
"Ev Τύλῳ δὲ τῇ νήσῳ τῇ περὶ τὴν ᾿Αραβίαν 
- , , / 5 A ὁ \ a “ 
εἶναί τί φασι ξύλον ἐξ οὗ τὰ πλοῖα ναυπηγοῦνται" 
τοῦτο δὲ ἐν μὲν τῇ θαλάττῃ σχεδὸν ἄσηπτον 
’, 
εἶναι" διαμένει γὰρ ἔτη πλείω ἢ διακόσια κατα- 
/ SAN \ yy / x a \ 
βυθιζόμενον: ἐὰν δὲ ἔξω, χρόνιον μὲν θᾶττον δὲ 
Ν 
σήπεται. (θαυμαστὸν δὲ καὶ ἕτερον λέγουσι, 
᾽ \ \ \ \ “A s / / 
οὐδὲν δὲ πρὸς THY σῆψιν. εἶναι γάρ τι δένδρον 
> a \ / / \ / 
ἐξ ov τὰς βακτηρίας τέμνεσθαι, καὶ γίνεσθαι 
\ / / ΩΝ / e / “ 
καλὰς σφόδρα ποικιλίαν τινὰ ἐχούσας ὁμοίαν τῷ 
τοῦ τίγριος δέρματι: βαρὺ δὲ σφόδρα τὸ ξύλον 
a / \ / 
τοῦτο" ὅταν δέ TLS ῥίψη πρὸς στερεώτερον τόπον, 
/ 
κατάγνυσθαι καθάπερ Ta κεράμια.) 
a , \ 4 Ὁ 
Καὶ τὸ τῆς μυρίκης δὲ ξύλον οὐχ ὥσπερ 
> a ’ / ᾽ ae \ “ / x 
ἐνταῦθα ἀσθενές, ἀλλ᾽ ἰσχυρὸν ὥσπερ πρίνινον ἢ 
καὶ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἰσχυρῶν. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἅμα 
/ \ 
μηνύει χώρας τε Kal ἀέρος διαφορὰς καὶ δυνάμεις. 
τῶν δὲ ὁμογενῶν ξύλων, οἷον δρυΐνων πευκίνων, 
ὅταν ταριχεύωνται---ταριχεύουσι γὰρ οὐκ ἐν ἴσῳ 
βάθει πάντα δύοντες τῆς θαλάττης, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν 
a a a \ \ \ 
πρὸς αὐτῇ τῇ γῇ, τὰ δὲ μικρὸν ἀνωτέρω, Ta δ᾽ ἐν 
/ 7 / \ \ Ν \ ae é 
πλείονι Baber: πάντων δὲ Ta πρὸς τὴν ῥίζαν 
a / , ef x b] A na 
θᾶττον δύεται καθ᾽ ὕδατος, κἂν ἐπινῇ μᾶλλοι' 
ῥέπει κάτω. 
\ a 
V. Ἔστι δὲ τὰ μὲν evepya τῶν ξύλων, τὰ δὲ 
δύσεργα: εὔεργα μὲν τὰ μαλακά, καὶ πάντων 





| Plin. 16. 221; ef. 4. 7. 7. 
Ὁ Teak. See Index App. (22). 
3 Calamander-wood, See Index App. (23). 


444 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. tv. 7-v. 1 


1In the island of Tylos off the Arabian coast 
they say that there is a kind of wood? of which 
they build their ships, and that in sea-water this 
is almost proof against decay; for it lasts more 
than 200 years if it is kept under water, while, if 
it is kept out of water, it decays sooner, though 
not for some time. They also tell of another 
strange thing, though it has nothing to do with 
the question of decay: they say that there is a 
certain tree,? of which they cut their staves, and 
that these are very handsome, having a variegated 
appearance like the tiger’s skin; and that this 
wood is exceedingly heavy, yet when one throws 
it down on hard ground‘ it breaks in pieces like 
pottery. 

Moreover, the wood of the tamarisk 5 is not 
weak there, as it is in our country, but is as strong 
as kermes-oak or any other strong wood. Now 
this illustrates also the difference in properties 
caused by country and climate. Moreover when wood, 
such as that of oak or fir, is soaked in brine—not 
all being soaked at the same depth in the sea, 
but some of it close to shore, some rather further 
out, and some at a still greater depth—*in all cases 
the parts of the tree nearest the root (whichever 
tree it is) sink quicker under water, and even if they 
float, have a greater tendency to sink. 


Which kinds of wood are easy and which hard to work. Of 
the core and its effects. 


V. Some wood is easy to work, some difficult. 
Those woods which are soft are easy, and especially 


4 πρὸς otep. τόπον can hardly be sound: ? ‘on something 
harder than itself.’ 
5 See Index, μυρίκη (2). 6 Plin. 16. 186. 


445 


tw 


THEOPHRASTUS 


μαλίστα φίλυρα' δύσεργα δὲ καὶ τὰ σκληρὰ καὶ 
τὰ ὀζώδη καὶ οὔλας ἔχοντα συστροφάς" δυσεργό- 
τατα δὲ ἀρία καὶ δρῦς, ὡς δὲ κατὰ μέρος ὁ τῆς 
πεύκης ὄζος καὶ τῆς ἐλάτης. ἀεὶ δὲ τῶν ὁμογενῶν 
τὸ μαλακώτερον τοῦ σκληροτέρου κρεῖττον" 
σαρκωδέστερον γάρ' καὶ εὐθὺ σκοποῦνται τὰς 
σανίδας οἱ τέκτονες οὕτως. τὰ δὲ μοχθηρὰ 
σιδήρια δύναται τέμνειν τὰ σκληρὰ μᾶλλον τῶν 
μαλακῶν" ἀνίησι γὰρ ἐν τοῖς μαλακοῖς, ὥσπερ 
ἐλέχθη περὶ τῆς φιλύρας, παρακονᾷ δὲ μάλιστα 
τὰ σκληρά" δι ὃ καὶ οἱ σκυτοτόμοι ποιοῦνται 
τοὺς πίνακας ἀχράδος. 

Μήτραν δὲ πάντα μὲν ἔχειν φασὶν οἱ τέκτονες 
φανερὰν δ᾽ εἶναι μάλιστα ἐν τῇ ἐλάτῃ" φαίνεσθαι 
γὰρ οἷον φλοιώδη τινὰ τὴν σύνθεσιν αὐτῆς τῶν 
κύκλων. ἐν ἐλάᾳ δὲ καὶ πύξῳ καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις 
οὐχ ὁμοίως" δι’ ὃ καὶ οὔ φασί τινες ἔχειν τῇ 
δυνάμει πύξον καὶ ἐλάαν: ἥκιστα γὰρ ἕλκεσθαι 
ταῦτα τῶν ξύλων. ἔστι δὲ τὸ ἕλκεσθαι τὸ συμ- 
περιΐστασθαι κινουμένης τῆς μήτρας. ζῇ γὰρ 
ὡς ἔοικεν ἐπὶ χρόνον πολύν" δι’ ὃ πανταχόθεν 
μὲν ἅμα μάλιστα δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν θυρωμάτων ἐξαιροῦ- 
σιν, ὅπως ἀστραβῆ ἡ ἢ: καὶ διὰ τοῦτο σχίξουσιν. 

ἼΛτοπον δ᾽ ἂν δόξειεν ὅτι ἐν μὲν τοῖς ξύλοις 
τοῖς στρογγύλοις ἄλυπος ἡ μήτρα καὶ ἀκίνητος, 
ἐν δὲ τοῖς παρακινηθεῖσιν, ἐὰν μὴ ὅλως ἐξαιρεθῇ, 





᾿ ..9..39. 

2 τὰ σκληρὰ conj. Sch. from G (3); ταῦτα P,Ald.H. 

3 ἔχειν conj. Sch.; ἔχει ἢ Ald.H. 

* ἐλάαν conj. Scal. from G ; ἐλάτην Ald. H. 

5 7.e, and this happens less in woods which have little 
core, ὁ ἅμα (? =dpolws) MSS. ; αὐτὴν conj. W. 


446 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. v. 1-3 


that of the lime; those are difficult which are 
hard and have many knots and a compact and 
twisted grain. The most difficult woods are those 
of arta (holm-oak) and oak, and the knotty parts 
of the fir and silver-fir. The softer part of any 
given tree is always better than the harder, since 
it is fleshier : and carpenters can thus at once mark 
the parts suitable for planks. Inferior iron tools can 
cut hard wood better than soft: for on soft wood 
tools lose their edge, as was said! in speaking of the 
lime, while hard woods®* actually sharpen it: where- 
fore cobblers make their strops of wild pear. 

Carpenters say that all woods have? a core, 
but that it is most plainly seen in the silver-fir, 
in which one can detect a sort of bark-like charac- 
ter in the rings. In olive box and such woods 
this is not so obvious ; wherefore they say that box 
and olive 6 lack this tendency ; for that these woods 
are less apt to ‘draw’ than any others. ‘ Drawing’ 
is the closing in of the wood as the core is dis- 
turbed.° For since the core remains alive, it appears, 
for a long time, it is always removed from any 
article whatever made of this wood,° but especially 
from doors,’ so that they may not warp®: and that 
is why the wood is split.® 

It might seem strange that in ‘round’ 10 timber 
the core does no harm and so is left undisturbed, 
while in wood whose texture has been interfered 
with," unless it is taken out altogether, it causes 

7 θυρωμάτων conj. Sch.; γυρωμάτων Ald. cf. 4. 1. 2; Plin. 
16. 225, abietem valvarum paginis aptissimam. 

8 ἀστραβῆ ἢ conj. Dalec.; ἀστραβῇ UMVAId. 

9. 2,6. to extract the core. 10 See below, §5. 

1 παρακινηθεῖσι, t.€. by splitting or sawing. πελεκηθεῖσι 
conj. W. 


447 


THEOPHRASTUS 


a \ / lal \ ᾽ \ 
κινεῖ Kal παραστρέφει' μᾶλλον γὰρ εἰκὸς γυμνω- 
θεῖσαν ἀποθνήσκειν. ὅμως δὲ οἵ γε ἱστοὶ καὶ 
Qn / a n 
ai κεραῖαι ἐξαιρεθείσης ἀχρεῖοι. τοῦτο δὲ κατὰ 
συμβεβηκός, ὅτι χιτῶνας ἔχει πλείους, ἰσχυρό- 
τατον δὲ καὶ λεπτότατον δὲ τὸν ἔσχατον, ξηρότα- 
, \ \ v SHON " AF 5 
TOV γάρ, Kal TOUS ἄλλους ava λογον. ὃταν οὖν 
A na ἈΝ , 
1 σχισθῇ, περιαιρεῖται τὰ ξηρότατα. εἰ δ᾽ ἡ μήτρα 
ὃ x \ \ ͵ ὃ yg δὲ « 7 
ιὰ τὸ ξηρὸν σκεπτέον. διαστρέφει δὲ ἑλκομένη 
τὰ ξύλα καὶ ἐν τοῖς σχιστοῖς καὶ πριστοῖς, ὅταν 
Ἁ ς ὃ a F ὃ lal ἣΝ ’ Oy \ , Ss 
μὴ ὡς δεῖ πρίωσι: δεῖ yap ὀρθὴν τὴν πρίσιν εἶναι 
\ Ἀ / Φ » a / D569 δὰ 
καὶ μὴ πλαγίαν. οἷον οὔσης τῆς μήτρας ἐφ᾽ ἣν 
\ x \ \ / > \ \ \ 
TO a, μὴ Tapa τὴν By τέμνειν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν 
/ \ e/ / , , \ an 
BS. φθείρεσθαι yap οὕτω φασίν, ἐκείνως δὲ ζῆν. 
“ Ν a / ” / > ΄ὔ Μ A 
ὅτι δὲ πᾶν ξύλον ἔχει μήτραν ἐκ τούτων οἴονται 
\ a 
φανερὸν γάρ ἐστι Kal τὰ μὴ δοκοῦντα πάντ᾽ ἔχειν, 
\ rn rf 
οἷον πύξον λωτὸν Tpivov. σημεῖον δέ: τοὺς yap 
στρόφιγγας τῶν θυρῶν τῶν πολυτελῶν ποιοῦσι 
xX 
μὲν ἐκ τούτων, συγγράφονται δὲ οἱ ἀρχιτέκτονες 
\ > / > \ \ a a 
οὕτως «μὴ; ἐκ μήτρας. ταὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο σημεῖον 
al / ty fal 
Kal OTL πᾶσα μήτρα ἕλκεται, καὶ αἱ τῶν σκληρο- 
/ / “ 
5 τάτων, ἃς δή τινες καρδίας καλοῦσι. παντὸς δὲ 





And so cause no trouble. 
cf. 5. 1. 6. πλείους conj. Sch. from G; ἄλλους» Ald. H. 
Text probably defective ; ? insert ἐξῃρέθη after ξηρὸν. 


The figure would seem to be 
DC 


ω ὦ Dm ~ 





448 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. v. 3-5 


disturbance and warping: it were rather to be 
expected that it would die! when exposed. Yet 
it is a fact that masts and yard-arms are useless, 
if it has been removed from the wood of which 
they are made. This is however an accidental ex- 
ception, because the wood in question has several 
coats,? of which the strongest and also thinnest is 
the outermost, since this is the driest, while 
the other coats are strong and thin in proportion 
to their nearness to the outermost. If therefore 
the wood be split, the driest parts are necessarily 
stripped off. Whether however in the other case 
the object of removing the core is to secure dryness 
is matter for enquiry. However, when the core 
‘draws, it twists the wood, whether it has been 
split or sawn, if the sawing is improperly performed : 
the saw-cut should be made straight and not slant- 
wiser hus, it ‘the core ‘be’ represented *by the 
line A, the cut must be made along the line BD, 
and not along the line BC: for in that case, they 
say, the core will be destroyed, while, if cut in 
the other way, it will live. For this reason men 
think that every wood has a core: for it is clear 
that those which do not seem to possess one never- 
theless have it, as box nettle-tree kermes-oak : a proof 
of this is the fact that men make of these woods the 
pivots’ of expensive doors, and accordingly® the 
headcraftsmen specify that wood with a core shall 
not’ be used. This is also a proof that any core 
‘draws, even those of the hardest woods, which 
some call the heart. In almost every wood, even 


5 cf, 5. 3. 5. στρόφιγξ here at least probably means ‘ pivot 
and socket.’ 
§ οὕτως Ald.H.; αὐτοὺς conj. W. 7 un add. W. 


449 


THEOPHRASTUS 


ὡς εἰπεῖν ξύλου σκληροτάτη καὶ μανοτάτη ἡ 
μήτρα, καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐλάτης: μανοτάτη μὲν οὗν, 
ὅτι τὰς ἶνας ἔχει καὶ διὰ πολλοῦ καὶ τὸ σαρκῶδες 
τὸ ἀνὰ μέσον πολύ: σκληροτάτη δέ, ὅτι καὶ 
αἱ ἶνες σκληρόταται καὶ τὸ σαρκῶδες" δι᾽ ὃ καὶ 
οἱ ἀρχιτέκτονες συγγράφονται παραιρεῖν τὰ πρὸς 
τὴν μήτραν, ὅπως λάβωσι τοῦ ξύλου τὸ πυκνότα- 
τον καὶ μαλακώτατον. 

Τῶν δὲ ξύλων τὰ μὲν σχιστὰ τὰ δὲ πελεκητὰ 
τὰ δὲ στρογγύλα: σχιστὰ μέν, ὅσα διαιροῦντες 
κατὰ τὸ μέσον πρίζουσι' πελεκητὰ δέ, ὅσων 
ἀποπελεκῶσι τὰ ἔξω' στρογγύλα δὲ δῆλον ὅτι 
Ta ὅλως ἄψαυστα. τούτων δὲ τὰ σχιστὰ μὲν 
ὅλως ἀρραγῆ διὰ τὸ γυμνωθεῖσαν τὴν μήτραν 
ξηραίνεσθαι καὶ ἀποθνήσκειν: τὰ δὲ πελεκητὰ 
καὶ τὰ στρογγύλα ῥήγνυται: μᾶλλον δὲ πολὺ 
τὰ στρογγύλα διὰ τὸ ἐναπειλῆφθαι τὴν μήτραν' 
οὐδὲν γὰρ ὅτι τῶν ἁπάντων οὐ ῥήγνυται. τοῖς 
δὲ λωτίνοις καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις οἷς εἰς τοὺς στρό- 
φιγγας χρῶνται πρὸς τὸ μὴ ῥήγνυσθαι βόλβιτον 
περιπλάττουσιν, ὅπως ἀναξηρανθῇ καὶ διαπνευσθῆ 
κατὰ μικρὸν ἡ ἐκ τῆς μήτρας ὑγρότης. ἡ μὲν οὖν 
μήτρα τοιαύτην ἔχει δύναμιν. 

VI. Βάρος δὲ ἐνεγκεῖν ἰσχυρὰ καὶ ἡ ἐλάτη 
καὶ ἡ πεύκη πλάγιαι τιθέμεναι: οὐδὲν γὰρ ἐν- 


2 ξύλου σκληροτάτη conj. Sch. from (ἃ ; ξύλον σκληρότατον 
UMV: so Ald. omitting καὶ. 
2 ἀποπελεκῶσι conj. Sch.; ἀποπλέκωσι UM; ἀποπλέκουσι 


Ald.; ἀποπελέκουσι mBas. ef: OcP ab. 1. Ὁ 
450 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. v. 5—-v1. 1 


in that of the silver-fir, the core is the hardest 
part,! and the part which has the least fibrous 
texture :—it is least fibrous because the fibres are far 
apart and there is a good deal of fleshy matter 
between them, while it is the hardest part because 
the fibres and the fleshy substance are the hardest 
parts. Wherefore the headcraftsmen specify that 
the core and the parts next it are to be removed, 
that they may secure the closest and softest part 
of the wood. 

Timber is either ‘ cleft,’ ‘hewn,’ or ‘round’: it is 
called ‘cleft,’ when in making division they saw it 
down the middle, ‘hewn’ when they hew off? the 
outer parts, while ‘ round’ clearly signifies wood which 
has not been touched atall. Of these, ‘cleft’ wood 2 
is not at all liable to split, because the core when 
exposed dries and dies: but ‘hewn’ and ‘round’ 
wood are apt to split, and especially ‘round’ wood, 
because the core is included in it: no kind of timber 
indeed is altogether incapable of splitting. The 
wood of the nettle-tree and other kinds which are 
used for making pivots for doors are smeared # 
with cow-dung to prevent their splitting : the object 
being that the moisture due to the core may be 
gradually dried up® and evaporated. Such are the 
natural properties of the core. 


Which woods can best support weight. 


VI. δ For bearing weight silver-fir and fir are strong 
woods, when set slantwise’: for they do not give like 

4 περιπλάττουσι conj. Sch. from G3; περιπάττουσιν Ald.H. 
Plin. 16. 222. 5 ἀναξηρανθῇ conj. Sch.; ἀναξηραίνῃ Ald. H. 

6 Plin. 16. 222-224. 

7e9.asastrut. πλάγιαι conj. Sch. from Plin. l.c.3 ἁπαλαὶ 
Ald. H. 


451 


THEOPHRASTUS 


διδόασιν, ὥσπερ ἡ δρῦς Kal τὰ γεώδη, ἀλλ᾽ ἀντω- 
θοῦσι" σημεῖον δὲ ὅτι οὐδέποτε ῥήγνυνται, καθάπερ 
ἐλάα καὶ ὃρῦς, ἀλλὰ πρότερον σήπονται καὶ 
ἄλλως ἀπαυδῶσιν. ἰσχυρὸν δὲ καὶ ὁ φοῖνιξ' 
ἀνάπαλιν yap ἡ κάμψις ἢ τοῖς ἄλλοις γίνεται" 
τὰ μὲν γὰρ εἰς τὰ κάτω κάμπτεται, ὁ δὲ φοῖνιξ 
εἰς τὰ ἄνω. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὴν πεύκην καὶ τὴν 
> / b) a ‘ \ a > “Ov ΤΣ ΄ 
ἐλάτην ἀντωθεῖν. τὸ δὲ τῆς Βὐβοϊκῆς καρύας, 
γίνεται γὰρ μέγα καὶ χρῶνται πρὸς τὴν Meo ia 
ὅταν μέλλῃ ῥήγνυσθαι ψοφεῖν ὥστε Terai av- 
εσθαι πρότερον" ὅπερ καὶ ἐν ᾿Αντάνδρῳ συνέ- 
πεσεν ἐν τῷ βαλανείῳ καὶ πάντες ἐξεπήδησαν. 
ἰσχυρὸν δὲ καὶ τὸ τῆς συκῆς πλὴν εἰς ὀρθόν. 

Ἡ δὲ ἐλάτη μάλιστα ὡς εἰπεῖν ἰσχυρόν. πρὸς 
δὲ τὰς τῶν τεκτόνων χρείας ἐχέκολλον μὲν μά- 
λιστα ἡ πεύκη διά τε τὴν μανότητα καὶ τὴν 
εὐθυπορίαν' οὐδὲ γὰρ ὅλως οὐδὲ ῥήγνυσθαί φασιν 
SUN “ > , \ , \ ς 
ἐὰν κολληθῇ. εὐτορνότατον δὲ φιλύκη, καὶ ἡ 

/ “ ς “ / lal) Ni 
λευκότης ὥσπερ ἢ τοῦ κηλάστρου. τῶν δὲ ἄλλων 
ἡ φίλυρα: τὸ γὰρ ὅλον εὔεργον, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, 
διὰ “μαλακότητα. εὔκαμπτα δὲ ὡς μὲν ἁπλῶς 
εἰπεῖν ὅσα γλίσχρα. διαφέρειν δὲ δοκεῖ συκά- 
μίνος καὶ ἐρινεός, δι’ ὃ καὶ τὰ ie pla καὶ τὰς 
στεφάνας καὶ ὅλως ὅσα περὶ τὸν κόσμον ἐκ 
τούτων ποιοῦσι. 

» \ \ Εν Ned / a 

Εὔπριστα δὲ καὶ εὔσχιστα Ta ἐνικμότερα τῶν 





1 i.e. the strut becomes concave or convex respectively. 
ef. Ken... Cyr. δ. 1]. 

2 7.e. it cannot be used as a strut, or it would ‘buckle,’ 
though it will stand a vertical strain. 

5 Plin,..16;, 225. 

* of. C.P. δ. 17. 3. εὐθυπορώτατα : εὐθυπορίαν. 


452 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. νι. 1-3 


oak and other woods which contain mineral matter. 
but make good resistance. A proof of this is that they 
never split like olive and oak, but decay first or fail 
in some other way. Palm-wood is also strong, for it 
bends the opposite way to other woods: they bend 
downwards, palm-wood upwards.! [Ὁ is said that fir 
and silver-fir also have an upward thrust. As to the 
sweet chestnut, which grows tall and is used for 
roofing, it is said that when it is about to split, it 
makes a noise, so that men are forewarned: this 
occurred once at Antandros at the baths, and all those 
present rushed out. Fig-wood is also strong, but only 
when set upright.” 


Of the woods best suited for the carpenter’s various purposes. 


3The wood of the silver-fir may be called the 
strongest of all. But for the carpenter’s purposes 
fir best takes glue because of its open texture and 
the straightness of its pores*; for they say that 
it never by any chance comes apart when it is glued. 
Alaternus® is the easiest wood for turning, and its 
whiteness is like that of the holly. Of the rest 
lime is the easiest, the whole tree, as was said, 
being easy to work because of the softness of the 
wood. In general those woods which are tough are 
easy to bend. The mulberry and the wild fig seem 
to be specially so; wherefore they make of these 
theatre-seats,®> the hoops of garlands, and, in 
general, things for ornament. 

7 Woods which have a fair amount of moisture in 
them are easier to saw or split than those which 

Sef δὲ ἡ: 1. 

5 Rendering doubtful. ἴκρια has probably here some un- 


known meaning, on which the sense of κόσμον depends. 
? Plin, 16. 227. 


453 


THEOPHRASTUS 


πάμπαν ξηρῶν: τὰ μὲν yap παύονται, τὰ δὲ 
ἵστανται; τὰ δὲ χλωρὰ λίαν συμμύει καὶ ἐνέχε- 
ται ἐν τοῖς ὀδοῦσι τὰ πρίσματα καὶ ἐμπλάττει, 
δι᾿ ὃ καὶ παραλλάττουσιν ἀλλήλων τοὺς ὀδόντας 
ἵνα ἐξάγηται. ἔστι δὲ καὶ δυστρυπητότερα τὰ 
λίαν χλωρά' βραδέως γὰρ ἀναφέρεται τὰ ἐκτρυ- 
πήματα διὰ τὸ βαρέα εἶναι: τῶν δὲ ξηρῶν ταχέως 
καὶ εὐθὺς ὁ ἀὴρ ἀναθερμαινόμενος ἀναδίδωσι: 
πάλιν δὲ τὰ λίαν ξηρὰ διὰ τὴν σκληρότητα 
δύσπριστα: καθάπερ γὰρ ὄστρακον συμβαίνει 
πρίειν, dv ὃ καὶ τρυπῶντες ἐπιβρέχουσιν. 

Εὐπελεκητότερα δὲ καὶ εὐτορνότερα καὶ εὐξο- 
ὦτερα τὰ χλωρά: προσκάθηταί τε γὰρ τὸ τορνευ- 
τήριον μᾶλλον καὶ οὐκ ἀποπηδᾷ. καὶ ἡ πελέκησις 
τῶν μαλακωτέρων ῥᾷων, καὶ ἡ ἕξέσις δὲ ὁμοίως καὶ 
ἔτε λειοτέρα. ἰσχυρότατον δὲ καὶ ἡ κράνεια, τῶν 
δὲ ἄλλων οὐχ ἥκιστα ἡ πτελέα, δι’ ὃ καὶ τοὺς 
στροφέας, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, ταῖς θύραις πτελεΐνους 
ποιοῦσιν. ὑγρότατον δὲ μελία καὶ ὀξύη" καὶ γὰρ 
τὰ κλινάρια τὰ ἐνδιδόντα ἐκ τούτων. 

VII. “Ὅλως δὲ πρὸς ποῖα τῆς ὕλης ἑκάστη 
χρησίμη καὶ ποία ναυπηγήσιμος καὶ οἰκοδομική, 
πλείστη γὰρ αὕτη ἡ χρεία καὶ ἐν μεγίστοις, 
πειρατέον εἰπεῖν, ἀφορίζοντα καθ᾽ ἕκαστον τὸ 


χρήσιμον. 
2 / \ s \ / \ / e e a 
Ελάτη μὲν οὖν καὶ πεύκη καὶ κέδρος ὡς ἁπλῶς 





1 παύονται can hardly be right: Plin. ἐ.6. seems to have 
had a fuller text. 
2 ἐμπλάττει: cf. de Sens. 66. 


454 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. vi. 3-vu. 1 


are altogether dry: for the latter give,! while the 
former resist. Wood which is too green closes up 
again when sawn, and the sawdust catches in the 
saw’s teeth and clogs” them; wherefore the teeth 
of the saw are set alternate ways, to get rid of the 
sawdust. Wood which is too green is also harder to 
bore holes in; for the auger’s dust is only brought 
up slowly, because it is heavy; while, if the wood is 
dry, the air gets warmed by the boring and brings 
it up readily and at once. On the other hand, wood 
which is over dry? is hard to saw because of its 
hardness: for it is like sawing through earthenware ; 
wherefore they wet the auger when using it. 
However green wood is easier to work with the 
axe the chisel or the plane; for the chisel gets a 
better hold and does not slip off. Again softer 
woods are easier for the axe and for smoothing,’ and 
also a better polished surface is obtained. The 
cornelian cherry is also a very strong wood, and 
among the rest elm-wood is the strongest ; where- 
fore, as was 5814,5 they make the ‘hinges’ for doors 
of elm-wood. Manna-ash and beech have very moist 
wood, for of these they make elastic bedsteads. 


Of the woods used in ship-building. 


VII. Next we must endeavour to say in a general 
way, distinguishing the several uses, for which 
purposes each kind of timber is serviceable, which 
is of use for ship-building, which for house-building : 
for these uses extend far and are important. 

Now silver-fir, fir and Syrian cedar δ are, generally 

5 τὰ λίαν ξηρὰ conj. St.; λεῖα καὶ ξηρὰ Ald. H. 


4 Se. with the carpenter’s axe. 
BD. Os. Os 8 See Index. 


455 


to 


THEOPHRASTUS 


a i. ‘ 4 ‘ ‘ 
εἰπεῖν ναυπηγήσιμα: TAS μὲν γὰρ τριήρεις καὶ τὰ 
a a \ 
μακρὰ πλοῖα ἐλάτινα ποιοῦσι διὰ κουφότητα, Ta 
\ ‘ 
δὲ στρογγύλα πεύκινα διὰ TO ἀσαπές" ἔνιοι δὲ Kal 
\ \ a 
τὰς τριήρεις διὰ TO μὴ εὐπορεῖν ἐλάτης. οἱ δὲ 
A yy , Ν I > / / 
κατὰ Συρίαν καὶ Φοινίκην ἐκ κέδρου" σπανίξουσι 
/ >] , 
yap καὶ πεύκης. οἱ δ᾽ ἐν Κύπρῳ πίτυος" ταύτην 
γὰρ ἡ νῆσος ἔχει καὶ δοκεῖ κρείττων εἶναι τῆς 
/ Ν N \ ” > 4 \ \ 
πεύκης. Kal τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἐκ τούτων" τὴν δὲ 
4 oh. / 
τρόπιν τριήρει μὲν δρυΐνην, ἵνα ἀντέχῃ πρὸς τὰς 
lA lal ἘΠῚ , ’ ts , ᾽ 
νεωλκίας, ταῖς δὲ ὁλκάσι πευκίνην' ὑποτιθέασι ὃ 
Ψ \ oh 2 \ lal a ? ͵ 
ἔτι καὶ δρυΐνην ἐπὰν νεωλκῶσι, ταῖς δ᾽ ἐλάττοσιν 
? ae \ a > 4 \ / 
o€vivnv: Kal ὅλως ἐκ τούτου TO χέλυσμα. 
Οὐχ ἅπτεται δὲ οὐδὲ κατὰ τὴν κόλλησιν 
7. nr / 
ὁμοίως TO Spvivov τῶν πευκίνων Kal ἐλατίνων: τὰ 
δ ¢ > 
μὲν yap πυκνὰ Ta δὲ μανά, Kal τὰ μὲν ὅμοια τὰ ὃ 
» a“ Ae a > ἊΝ / 
ov. δεῖ δὲ ὁμοιοπαθῆ εἶναι τὰ μέλλοντα συμ- 
7 \ \ > / / \ 
φύεσθαι καὶ μὴ ἐναντία, καθαπερανεὶ λίθον Kai 
ξύλον. 
«ς δὲ ’, lal \ / Us 
Η δὲ topveia τοῖς μὲν πλοίοις γίνεται συκα- 
/ 
μίνου μελίας πτελέας πλατάνου: γλισχρότητα 
a , n 
yap ἔχειν δεῖ καὶ ἰσχύν. χειρίστη δὲ ἡ τῆς 
a \ 
πλατάνου" ταχὺ yap σήπεται. ταῖς δὲ τριήρεσιν 
oh. A ‘ \ , 
ἔνιοι Kal πιτυΐνας ποιοῦσι διὰ TO ἐλαφρόν. τὸ 
\ / \ ᾿ς \ le 4 b 
δὲ στερέωμα, πρὸς ᾧ TO χέλυσμα, Kal Tas ἐπω- 
’ \ ’ \ / 
τίδας, μελίας καὶ συκαμίνου Kal πτελέας" ἰσχυρὰ 





1 τριήρει conj. W.; τριήρη U; τριήρης MV; τριήρεσι Ald. 

3. ταῖς δ᾽ ἐλάττοσιν ὀξυίνην conj. W. (τοῖς Sch.); τοῖς μὲν 
ἐλάττοσιν ὀξύη Ald. cf. Plin. 16. 226. 

8 χέλυσμα, a temporary covering for the bottom: so Poll. 
and Hesych. explain. 


456 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. vu. 1-3 


speaking, useful for ship-building ; for triremes and 
long ships are made of silver-fir, because of its light- 
ness, and merchant ships of fir, because it does not 
decay ; while some make triremes of it also because 
they are ill provided with silver-fir. The people 
of Syria and Phoenicia use Syrian cedar, since they 
cannot obtain much fir either; while the people of 
Cyprus use Aleppo pine, since their island provides 
this and it seems to be superior to their fir. Most 
parts are made of these woods; but the keel for a 
trireme! is made of oak, that it may stand the haul- 
ing; and for merchantmen it is made of fir. How- 
ever they put an oaken keel under this when they 
are hauling, or for smaller vessels a keel of beech ; 2 
and the sheathing ? is made entirely of this wood. 

4 (However oak-wood does not join well with glue 
on to fir or silver-fir; for the one is of close, the 
other of open grain, the one is uniform, the other 
not so; whereas things which are to be made into 
one piece should be of similar character, and not of 
opposite character, like wood and stone.) 

The work of bentwood® for vessels is made of 
mulberry manna-ash elm or plane; for it must be 
tough and strong. That made of plane-wood is the 
worst, since it soon decays. For triremes some make 
such parts of Aleppo pine because of its lightness. 
The cutwater,® to which the sheathing is attached,’ 
and the catheads are made of manna-ash mulberry 


4 This sentence is out of place; its right place is perhaps 
at the end of § 4. 

5 πορνεία; but the word is perhaps corrupt: one would 
expect the name of some part of the vessel. 

ὁ στερέωμα : apparently the fore part of the keel ; -Ξ- στεῖρα. 

7 πρὸς ᾧ τὸ χέλυσμα οοΠ]. W. after Scal,; πρόσω: τὸ σχέλυσμα 
Ald. (σχέλομα Μ, χέλυσμα Ὁ) πρόσω: τὸ δὲ χέλυσμα MBas. 


457 


THEOPHRASTUS 


yap δεῖ ταῦτ᾽ elvat. ναυπηγήσιμος μὲν οὖν ὕλη 
σχεδὸν αὕτη. 

Οἰκοδομικὴ δὲ πολλῷ πλείων, ἔλάτη τε καὶ 
πεύκη καὶ κέδρος, ETL κυπάριττος δρῦς καὶ ap- 
κευθος: ὡς δ᾽ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν πᾶσα χρησίμη πλὴν 
εἴ τις ἀσθενὴς πάμπαν" οὐκ εἰς ταὐτὸ γὰρ πᾶσαι, 
καθάπερ οὐδ᾽ ἐπὶ τῆς ναυπηγίας. αἱ δ᾽ ἄλλαι 
πρὸς τὰ ἴδια τῶν τεχνῶν, οἷον σκεύη καὶ ὄργανα 
καὶ εἴ τι τοιοῦτον ἕτερον. πρὸς πλεῖστα δὲ σχεδὸν 
ἡ ἐλάτη παρέχεται χρείαν: καὶ γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς 
πίνακας τοὺς γραφομένους. τεκτονικῇ μὲν οὖν ἡ 
παλαιοτάτη κρατίστη, ἐὰν ἢ ἀσαπής" εὐθετεῖ γὰρ 
ὡς εἰπεῖν πᾶσι χρῆσθαι: ναυπηγικῇ δὲ διὰ τὴν 
κώμψιν ἐνικμοτέρᾳ ἀναγκαῖον: ἐπεὶ πρός γε τὴν 
κόλλησιν ἡ ξηροτέρα συμφέρει. ἵσταται γὰρ 
καινὰ τὰ ναυπηγούμενα καὶ ὅταν συμπαγῇ καθ- 
ελκυσθέντα συμμύει καὶ στέγει, πλὴν ἐὰν μὴ 
παντάπασιν ἐξικμασθῇ: τότε δὲ οὐ δέχεται κόλ- 
λησιν ἢ οὐχ ὁμοίως. 

Δεῖ δὲ καὶ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον λαμβάνειν εἰς ποῖα 
χρήσιμός ἐστιν. ἐλάτη μὲν οὖν καὶ πεύκη, 
καθάπερ εἴρηται, καὶ πρὸς ναυπηγίαν καὶ πρὸς 





1 ἐλάτη... ἄρκευθος conj. W.; ἐλάτη τε καὶ πεύκη καὶ κέδρος 
ἔτι κυπάριττος δρῦς πεύκη καὶ κέδρος ἄρκευθος U; ἐλάτη τε καὶ 
πεύκη καὶ κέδρος καὶ ὄρκευθος Ald.H.: so also MV, omitting 
καὶ before ἀρκ. 

2 ὡς δ᾽ ἁπλῶς conj. Sch.; ἁπλῶς δ᾽ ὡς Ald. 

3 καινὰ conj. Sch.; καὶ νῦν Ald. 

4 συμπαγῇ conj. W., which he renders ‘when it has been 
glued together’; συμπίῃ Ald. G’s reading was evidently 
different. 


458 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, Ν. vi. 3-5 


and elm; for these parts must be strong. Such 
then is the timber used in ship-building. 


Of the woods used in house-building. 


For house-building a much greater variety is 
used, silver-fir fir and prickly cedar; also cypress 
oak and Phoenician cedar.' In fact, to speak 
generally,? any wood is here of service, unless it is 
altogether weak : for there are various purposes for 
which different woods are serviceable, just as there 
are in ship-building. While other woods are service- 
able for special articles belonging to various crafts, 
such as furniture tools and the like, the wood of 
silver-fir is of use for almost more purposes than any 
other wood ; for it is even used for painters’ tablets. 
For carpentry the oldest wood is the best, provided 
that it has not decayed; for it is convenient for 
almost anyone to use. But for ship-building, where 
bending is necessary, one must use wood which 
contains more moisture (though, where glue is to be 
used, drier wood is convenient). For timber-work 
for ships is set to stand when it is newly? made: 
then, when it has become firmly united,‘ it is 
dragged down to the water, and then it closes up 
and becomes watertight,—unless® all the moisture 
has been dried out of it, in which case it will not 
take the glue, or will not take it so well. 


Of the uses of the wood of particular trees. 

But we must consider for what purposes® each 
several wood is serviceable. Silver-fir and fir, as has 
been said, are suitable both for ship-building house- 

δ᾽ πλὴν ἐὰν μὴ conj. W.; 7. ἐάν re M; π. ἐάν γε Ald. 


6 4.e. apart from ship-building and house-building, in 
which several woods are used. 


459 


THEOPHRASTUS 


’ , Ν Μ Ν ΝΜ “ yy ’ 
οἰκοδομίαν Kal ἔτι πρὸς ἄλλα τῶν ἔργων, εἰς 
/ \ e 9 / 4 / - \ n \ > 
πλείω δὲ ἡ ἐλάτη. πίτυϊ δὲ χρῶνται μὲν εἰς 
ἄμφω καὶ οὐχ ἧττον εἰς ναυπηγίαν, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ 
ταχὺ διασήπεται. δρῦς δὲ πρὸς οἰκοδομίαν καὶ 
πρὸς ναυπηγίαν ἔτι τε πρὸς τὰ κατὰ γῆς κατορυτ- 
τόμενα. φίλυρα δὲ πρὸς τὰ σανιδώματα τῶν 
μακρῶν πλοίων καὶ πρὸς κιβώτια καὶ πρὸς τὴν 
τῶν μέτρων κατασκευήν. ἔχει δὲ καὶ τὸν φλοιὸν 
χρήσιμον πρός τε τὰ σχοινία καὶ πρὸς τὰς κίστας" 
ποιοῦσι γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῆς. 
Σφένδαμνός τε καὶ ζυγία πρὸς κλινοπηγίαν 
\ ἊΝ \ \ “ 7 / x ’ 
Kal πρὸς τὰ ζυγὰ τῶν λοφούρων. μίλος δὲ εἰς 
Ls / \ ς / \ 
παρακολλήματα κιβώτοις Kai ὑποβάθροις Kai 
ὅλως τοῖς τοιούτοις. πρῖνος δὲ πρὸς ἄξονας ταῖς 
μονοστρόφοις ἁμάξαις καὶ εἰς ζυγὰ λύραις καὶ 
ψαλτηρίοις. ὀξύη δὲ πρὸς ἁμαξοπηγίαν καὶ 
διφροπηγίαν τὴν εὐτελῆ. πτελέα δὲ πρὸς θυρο- 
πηγίαν καὶ γαλεάγρας" χρῶνται δὲ καὶ εἰς τὰ 
ἁμαξικὰ μετρίως. πηδὸς δὲ εἰς ἄξονάς τε ταῖς 
e / \ ᾽ “ > / > / 
ἁμάξαις Kai εἰς ἕλκηθρα τοῖς ἀρότροις. ἀνδράχλη 
δὲ ταῖς γυναιξὶν εἰς τὰ περὶ τοὺς ἱστούς. ἄρ- 
κευθος δὲ εἰς τεκτονίας καὶ εἰς τὰ ὑπαίθρια καὶ 
εἰς τὰ κατορυττόμενα κατὰ γῆς διὰ τὸ ἀσαπές. 
ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ἡ Εὐβοϊκὴ καρύα, καὶ πρός γε 
\ / »Μ al >? , / \ 
τὴν κατόρυξιν ἔτι μᾶλλον ἀσαπής. πύξῳ de 
a ᾽ a 
ρῶνται μὲν πρὸς ἔνια, ov μὴν ἀλλ᾽ ἥ γε ἐν TO 
΄ / \ \ as ΜῈ \ 
νομένη διὰ TO βραχεῖά τε εἶναι K 
Ὀλύμπῳ γωομένη διὰ τὸ βραχεῖά το εἶναι καὶ 
ὀζώδης ἀχρεῖος. τερμίνθῳ δὲ οὐδὲν χρῶνται 


1 κίστας : οἵ. 3. 13. 1; perhaps ‘hampers,’ ef. 5. 7. 7. 

2 παρακολλήματα: lit. ‘things glued on.’ 

3 Plin. 16. 229. 

4 ταῖς μονοστρόφοις ἁμάξαις : or, perhaps, ‘the wheels of 


460 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. vit. 5-7 


building and also for other kinds of work, but silver- 
fir is of use for more purposes than fir. Aleppo pine 
is used for both kinds of building, but especially for 
ship-building, yet it soon rots. Oak is used for 
house-building, for ship-building, and also for under- 
ground work ; lime for the deck-planks of long ships, 
for boxes, and for the manufacture of measures; its 
bark is also useful for ropes and writing-cases,! for 
these are sometimes made of it. 

Maple and szygia are used for making beds 
and the yokes of beasts of burden: yew for the 
ornamental work attached? to chests and footstools 
and the like: kermes-oak? for the axles of wheel- 
barrows ὁ and the cross-bars of lyres and psalteries : 
beech for making waggons and cheap carts: elm 
for making doors and weasel-traps, and to some 
extent it is also used for waggon work; pedos® for 
waggon-axles and the stocks of ploughs: andrachne 
is used for women for parts of the loom: Phoenician 
cedar for carpenters’ work © and for work which is 
either to be exposed to the air or buried underground, 
because it does not decay. Similarly the sweet 
chestnut is used, and it is even less likely to decay 
if it is used for underground work. Box is used for 
some purposes; however that which grows on 
Mount Olympus’ is useless, because only short pieces 
can be obtained and the wood® is full of knots. 
Terebinth is not used,°® except the fruit and the resin. 


carts with solid wheels.’ ταῖς conj. Sch.; τε καὶ UMV; τε καὶ 
μονοστρόφους ἁμάξας Ald. 

5 πηδος (with varying accent) MSS.: ῬΓΟΌΔΌΙΥ τε πάδος, 4. 1. 
3; πύξος Ald., but see ὃ 7. 

6 τεκτονίας can hardly be right. 7 of. 3. 15. 5. 

8. cf. 1. 8. 2, of box in general; Plin. 16. 71. 

5 Inconsistent with 5. 3. 2. 


461 


THEOPHRASTUS 


πλὴν τῷ καρπῷ Kal TH ῥητίνῃ. οὐδὲ φιλυκῃ 
πλὴν τοῖς προβάτοις: ἀεὶ γάρ ἐστι δασεῖα. τῇ 
δὲ ἀφάρκῃ εἰς χάρακάς τε καὶ τὸ καίειν. κη- 
δὰ 4 δὲ \ “ὃ \ B / ” δὲ 
ἄάστρῳ δὲ καὶ σημύδᾳ πρὸς βακτηρίας. ἔνιοι δὲ 

Ν , \ \ / ΄, 

καὶ δάφνῃ" τὰς γὰρ γεροντικὰς καὶ κούφας ταύτης 
a Ss / \ 
ποιοῦσιν. itéa δὲ πρός TE τὰς ἀσπίδας καὶ 
\ / cal 4 
τὰς κίστας καὶ τὰ κανᾶ καὶ τἄλλα. προσανα- 
a fA) \ lal ” “ ς / 
λαβεῖν δέ ἐστι Kal τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστον ὁμοίως. 
\ \ lal , 
Διήρηται δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὰ τεκτονικὰ τῶν ὀργώ- 
δι / , \ 
νων ἕκαστα κατὰ τὴν χρείαν: οἷον σφυρίον μὲν 
/ \ / , a 
Kal TEPETPLOV ἄριστα μὲν γίνεται κοτίνου: χρῶνται 
J. .Λ of. \ 
δὲ καὶ πυξίνοις καὶ πτελεΐνοις καὶ μελείΐνοις" Tas 
Ld ae a 
δὲ μεγάλας σφύρας πιτυΐνας ποιοῦσιν. ὁμοίως 
\ ἮΝ a Ly “ ” \ 4 \ 
δὲ Kal τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστον ἔχει τινὰ τάξιν. καὶ 
al ς a “ 
ταῦτα μὲν αἱ χρεῖαι διαιροῦσιν. 
¢c lal δ « 

VIII. ‘Exdaorn δὲ τῆς ὕλης, ὥσπερ Kal πρότερον 
> / / \ \ / ” \ \ 
ἐλέχθη, διαφέρει κατὰ τοὺς τόπους" ἔνθα μὲν yap 

‘ ΕΣ / 
λωτὸς ἔνθα δὲ κέδρος γίνεται θαυμαστή, καθάπερ 
\ \ / I / \ a 
καὶ περὶ Συρίαν' ἐν Συρίᾳ γὰρ ἔν τε τοῖς ὄρεσι 
Ἂν / a / a 
διαφέροντα γίνεται τὰ δένδρα τῆς κέδρου καὶ TO 
“ \ a / a 4 ae 
ὕψει Kal τῷ Taye τηλικαῦτα γάρ ἐστιν ὥστ᾽ 
” \ \ ’ a ” / 
ἔνια μὲν μὴ δύνασθαι τρεῖς ἄνδρας περιλαμβάνειν' 
»Μ cal / / 
ἔν τε τοῖς παραδείσοις ἔτει μείζω Kal καλλίω. 

, N \ etd biel \ \ / , 
φαίνεται δὲ καὶ ἐάν τις ἐᾷ καὶ μὴ τέμνῃ τόπον 
οἰκεῖον ἕκαστον ἔχον γίνεσθαι θαυμαστὸν τῷ 

[2 ‘A lal 
μήκει καὶ πάχει. ἐν Κύπρῳ γοῦν οὐκ ἔτεμνον οἱ 

a “ \ nr 
βασιλεῖς, ἅμα μὲν τηροῦντες Kal ταμιευόμενοι, ἅμα 





1 Inconsistent with 5. θ. 2. φιλυρέα conj. Sch. 
2 καὶ σημύδα conj. Sch.; καὶ μυῖα Ὁ ; καὶ μύα Ald. ef. 3. 14. 4. 


462 


ENQUIRY INFO: PLANTS, V. νι. τ ἢ 


1 Alaternus is only useful for feeding sheep; for it is 
always leafy. Hybrid arbutus is used for making 
stakes and for burning: holly and Judas-tree? for 
walking-sticks: some also use bay for these; for 
of this® they make light sticks and sticks for old 
men. Willow is used for shields hampers baskets 
and the like. We might in like manner add the 
several uses of the other woods. 

4 Distinction is also made between woods according 
as they are serviceable for one or other of the 
carpenter's tools : thus hammers and gimlets are best 
made of wild olive, but box elm and manna-ash are 
also used, while large mallets are made of Aleppo 
pine. In like manner there is a regular practice 
about each of the other tools. Such are the 
differences as to the uses of various woods. 


Of the localities in which the best timber grows. 


VIII. Each kind of timber, as was said before, 
differs according to the place® where it grows; 
in one place nettle-tree, in another the cedar is 
remarkably fine, for instance in Syria; for in Syria 
and on its mountains the cedars grow to a sur- 
passing height and thickness: they are sometimes 
so large that three men cannot embrace the tree. 
And in the parks they are even larger and finer. It 
appears that any tree, if it is left alone in its 
natural position and not cut down, grows to a 
remarkable height and thickness. For instance in 
Cyprus the kings used not to cut the trees, 
both because they took great care of them and hus- 


3 ταύτης con}. H.; ταύτας UMVAId. 
“Pliny 16. 230: 
5 τόπους conj. Scal. from G3; πόδας Ald. 


403 


THEOPHRASTUS 


δὲ καὶ διὰ τὸ δυσκόμιστον εἶναι. μῆκος μὲν ἣν 
τῶν εἰς τὴν ἑνδεκήρη τὴν Δημητρίου τμηθέντων 
τρισκαιδεκαόργυιον, αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ ξύλα τῷ μήκει 
θαυμαστὰ καὶ ἄοζξα καὶ λεῖα. μέγιστα δὲ καὶ 
παρὰ πολὺ τὰ ἐν τῇ Κύρνῳ φασὶν εἶναι: τῶν 
γὰρ ἐν τῇ Λατίνῃ καλῶν γινομένων ὑπερβολῇ 
καὶ τῶν ἐλατίνων καὶ τῶν πευκίνων---μείζω γὰρ 
ταῦτα καὶ καλλίω τῶν ᾿Ιταλικῶν --οὐδὲν εἶναι 
πρὸς τὰ ἐν τῇ Κύρνῳ. πλεῦσαι γάρ ποτε τοὺς 
Ῥωμαίους βουλομένους κατασκευάσασθαι πόλιν 
ἐν τῇ νήσῳ πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι ναυσί, καὶ τηλικοῦτον 
εἶναι τὸ μέγεθος τῶν δένδρων ὥστε εἰσπλέοντας 
εἰς κόλπους τινὰς καὶ λιμένας διασχισθεῖσι τοῖς 
ἱστοῖς ἐπικινδυνεῦσαι. καὶ ὅλως δὲ πᾶσαν τὴν 
νῆσον δασεῖαν καὶ ὥσπερ ἠγριωμένην τῇ ὕλῃ; 
δι’ ὃ καὶ ἀποστῆναι τὴν πόλιν οἰκίζειν' διαβάντας 
δέ τινας ἀποτεμέσθαι πάμπολυ πλῆθος ἐ ἐκ τόπου 
βραχέος, ὥστε τηλικαύτην ποιῆσαι σχεδίαν ἣ 
ἐχρήσατο πεντήκοντα ἱστίοις: οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ 
διαπεσεῖν αὐτὴν ἐν τῷ πελάγει. Κύρνος μὲν οὖν 
εἴτε διὰ τὴν ἄνεσιν εἴτε καὶ τὸ ἔδαφος καὶ τὸν 
ἀέρα πολὺ διαφέρει τῶν ἄλλων. 

Ἢ δὲ τῶν Λατίνων ἔφυδρος πᾶσα" καὶ ἡ μὲν 
πεδεινὴ δάφνην ἔχει καὶ “μυρρίνους καὶ ὀξύην 
θαυμαστήν' τηλικαῦτα γὰρ τὰ μήκη τέμνουσι 
ὥστ᾽ εἶναι διανεκῶς τῶν 'Τυρρηνίδων ὑπὸ τὴν 
τρόπιν: ἡ δὲ ὀρεινὴ πεύκην καὶ ἐλάτην. τὸ δὲ 
᾿ ait ae Poliorcetes. cf. Plut. Demetr. 43; Plin. 16. 
ag RRO α conj. W.; é τὸν πύκνον Ald.; so U, but 
πυκνον. 


3. 4.e. against the overhanging trees. ἱστίοις, to which 
διασχ. is more appropriate. 


464 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V, vit. 1-3 


banded them, and also because the transport of the 
timber was difficult. The timbers cut for Demetrius’ ! 
ship of eleven banks of oars were thirteen fathoms 
long, and the timbers themselves were without 
knots and smooth, as well as of marvellous length. 
But largest of all, they say, are the trees of 
Corsica; for whereas silver-fir and fir grow in 
Latium to a very great size, and are taller and 
finer than the silver-firs and firs of South Italy, 
these are said to be nothing to the trees of Corsica. 
For it is told how the Romans once made an ex- 
pedition to that island with twenty-five ships, wishing 
to found a city there; and so great was the size of 
the trees that, as they sailed into certain bays and 
creeks, they got into difficulties? through breaking 
their masts.2 And in general it is said that the 
whole island is thickly wooded and, as it were, one 
wild forest ; wherefore the Romans gave up the idea 
of founding their city: however some of them made 
an excursion ‘ into the island and cleared away a large 
quantity of trees from a small area, enough to make 
a raft with fifty sails ; 5 but this broke up in the open 
sea. Corsica then, whether because of its uncultivated 
condition or because of its soil and climate, is very 
superior in trees to other countries. 

The country of the Latins is all well watered ; 
the lowland part contains bay, myrtle, and wonder- 
ful beech: they cut timbers of it of such a size that 
they will run the whole length® of the keel of a 
Tyrrhenian vessel. The hill country produces fir and 
silver-fir. The district called by Circe’s name is, it 


4 διαβάντας δέ τινας conj. St. from G; διαβάντα δέ τινα Ald. H. 
5 ἢ ἐχρήσατο πεντ. iat. conj. Sch.; 7 ἐχρήσαντο of Ald. H. 
ὃ διανεκῶς conj. Sch.; διὰ νεὼς Ald. 


465 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Kipxatov καλούμενον εἶναι μὲν ἄκραν ὑψηλήν, 
δασεῖαν δὲ σφόδρα καὶ ἔχειν δρῦν καὶ δάφνην πολ- 
λὴν καὶ μυρρίνους. λέγειν δὲ τοὺς ἐγχωρίους ὡς 
ἐνταῦθα ἡ Κίρκη κατῴκει καὶ δεικνύναι τὸν τοῦ 
᾿Ελπήνορος τάφον, ἐξ οὗ φύονται μυρρίναι καθά- 
περ αἱ στεφανώτιδες τῶν ἄλλων ὄντων μεγάλων 
μυρρίνων. τὸν δὲ τόπον εἶναι καὶ τοῦτον νέαν 
πρόσθεσιν, καὶ πρότερον μὲν οὖν νῆσον εἶναι τὸ 
Κιρκαῖον, νῦν δὲ ὑπὸ ποταμῶν τινων προσκε- 
χῶσθαι καὶ εἶναι ἠϊόνα. τῆς δὲ νήσου τὸ μέγεθος 
περὶ ὀγδοήκοντα σταδίους. καὶ τὰ μὲν τῶν 
τόπων ἴδια πολλὴν ἔχει διαφοράν, ὥσπερ εἴρηται 
πολλάκις. 

ΙΧ. Τὸ δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὴν πύρωσιν πῶς ἑκάστη 
τῆς ὕλης ἔχει λεκτέον ὁμοίως καὶ πειρατέον 
λαβεῖν. ἄνθρακες μὲν οὖν ἄριστοι γίνονται τῶν 
πυκνοτάτων, οἷον ἀρίας δρυὸς κομάρον' στερεώ- 
TATOL γάρ, ὥστε πλεῖστον χρόνον ἀντέχουσι καὶ 
μάλιστα ἰσχύουσι" δι’ ὃ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀργυρείοις 
τούτοις χρῶνται πρὸς τὴν πρώτην τούτων ἕψησιν. 
χείριστοι δὲ τούτων οἱ δρύϊνοι: γεωδέστατοι yap’ 
χείρους δὲ καὶ οἱ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων τῶν νέων, καὶ 
μάλιστα οἱ τῶν γερανδρύων διὰ ταὐτό: ξηρότατοι 
γάρ, δι’ ὃ καὶ πηδῶσι καιόμενοι" δεῖ δὲ ἔνικμον 
εἶναι. 

Βέλτιστοι δὲ οἱ τῶν ἐν ἀκμῇ καὶ μάλιστα οἱ 


1 ef. Hom. Od. 10. 552 foll., 11. 51-80, 12. 8-15; Plin. 18. 
119. 
* νέαν πρόσθεσιν conj. Sch.; eis ἀνδρὸς θέσιν Ald, 


466 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. vii. 3-1x. 2 


is said, a lofty promontory, but very thickly wooded, 
producing oak, bay in abundance, and myrtle. There, 
according to the natives, dwelt Circe, and they shew 
Elpenor’s tomb,' on which grow myrtles like those 
used for gaviands, though other kinds of myrtle are 
large trees. Further it is said that the district is a 
recent addition 2 to the land, and that once this piece 
of land was an island, but now the sea has been 
silted up by certain streams and it has become 
united to the coast, and the size of the ‘island’ ἢ 
is about eighty furlongs in circumference. There 
is * then much difference in trees, as has been said 
repeatedly, which is due to the individual character 
of particular districts. 


Of the uses of various woods in making fire: charcoal, fuel, 
fire-sticks. 

IX. Next we must state in like manner and 
endeavour to determine the properties of each kind 
of timber in relation to making fire. The best 
charcoal is made from the closest wood, such as 
aria (holm-oak) oak arbutus ; for these are the most 
solid, so that they last longest and are the strongest ; 
wherefore these are used in silver-mines for the first 
smelting of the ore. Worst of the woods mentioned 
is oak, since it contains most mineral matter,> and 
the wood of older trees is inferior to that of the 
younger, and for the same reason that of really old 
trees © is specially bad. For it is very dry, wherefore 
it sputters as it burns; whereas wood for charcoal 
should contain sap. 

The best charcoal comes from trees in their prime. 


icf. unas 07. 4 ἔχει conj. Sch.; εἶναι Ald. 
5 i.e. and so makes much ash. (0) 5.) FL ὍΣ 


467 


THEOPHRASTUS 


“Ἵν cal / an “-“ 
τῶν κολοβῶν' συμμέτρως γὰρ ἔχουσι τῷ πυκνῷ 
καὶ γεώδει καὶ τῷ ὑγρῷ: βελτίους δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν 

/ \ nr , na 
εὐείλων καὶ ξηρῶν Kai προσβόρρων ἢ ἐκ τῶν 
’, lal 
παλισκίων Kal ὑγρῶν Kal πρὸς νότον καὶ εἰ 
¢ fal ld 5 ͵ὕ 
ἐνικμοτέρας ὕλης, πυκνῆς" ὑγροτέρα yap ἡ πυκνή. 

Ye: Ὁ Ea 4 x Ἁ Ν / / 

καὶ ὅλως, ὅσα ἢ φύσει ἢ διὰ [τὸν] τόπον ξηρότερον 
/ ) ς / / \ a > \ 
muxvotepa, ἐξ ἁπάντων βελτίω διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν 
oe ὁ ,ὔ \ Μ bY \ ” \ 
αἰτίαν. χρεία δὲ ἄλλων ἄλλη: πρὸς ἔνια yap 
“ ee a 
ζητοῦσι τοὺς μαλακούς, οἷον ἐν τοῖς σιδηρείοις 
n / lal “— A “ 
τοὺς τῆς καρύας τῆς Εὐβοϊκῆς, ὅταν ἤδη κεκαυ- 
a: \ a , \ : 
μένος ἦ, Kal ἐν τοῖς ἀργυρείοις τοὺς πιτυΐνους. 
χρῶνται δὲ καὶ αἱ τέχναι τούτοις. ζητοῦσι δὲ 
καὶ οἱ χαλκεῖς τοὺς πευκίνους μᾶλλον ἢ δρυΐνους" 
’ >’ / ’ ᾽ > \ 4 b / 
καίτοι ἀσθενέστεροι ἀλλ᾽ εἰς τὴν φύσησιν ἀμεί- 
/ 
νους ὡς ἧσσον καταμαραινόμενοι" ἔστι δὲ ἡ φλὸξ 
7 \ \ δ 
ὀξυτέρα τούτων. τὸ δὲ ὅλον ὀξυτέρα φλὸξ καὶ 
\ A / “-“ nr 
ἡ τούτων Kal ἡ τῶν ξύλων TOV μανῶν Kal κούφων 
-“ > nr n Ὁ 
καὶ ἡ τῶν αὔων' ἡ δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν πυκνῶν καὶ χλωρῶν 
/ a 
νωθεστέρα καὶ παχυτέρα: πασῶν δὲ ὀξυτάτη ἡ 
ἐκ τῶν ὑλημάτων' ἄνθρακες δὲ ὅλως οὐ γίνονται 
\ a 
διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν TO σωματῶδες. 
m/s \ \ σε > \ > \ Ἁ 
Γέμνουσι δὲ καὶ ζητοῦσι εἰς τὰς ἀνθρακιὰς τὰ 


1 κολοβῶν conj. Palm.; κολλάβων U; κολάβων Ald. 

2 δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν conj. W.; δὲ καὶ of τῶν UMVP; δὲ of τῶν 
Ald.H. 

3 καὶ εἰ ἐνικμοτέρας conj. W.; καὶ of ἐνακμοτέρας U; kal ἡ ἐν 
ἀκμητέρας MV; καὶ οἱ ἐν ἀκμητέρας Ald.Bas.Cam. The sense 
seems to require ὕγροτέρας for ἐνικμοτέρας and ἐνικμοτέρα for 
ὑγροτέρα. seems to have had a fuller text. 

4 «.e. from growing in a damper place. cf. 5. 9. 4. 


468 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1x. 2-4 


and especially from trees which have been topped!: 
for these contain in the right proportion the qualities 
of closeness admixture of mineral matter and moisture. 
Again better charcoal comes from trees? in asunny dry 
position with a north aspect than from those grown in 
a shady damp position facing south. Or, if the wood ὅ 
used contains a good deal of moisture, it should be 
of close texture ; for such wood contains more sap.°® 
And, for the same reason, that which is of closer 
texture either from its own natural character or 
because it was grown in a drier spot,® is, whatever 
the kind of tree, better.7 But different kinds of 
charcoal are used for different purposes: for some 
uses men require it to be soft; thus in iron-mines 
they use that which is made of sweet chestnut 
when the iron has been already smelted, and in 
silver-mines they use charcoal of pine-wood: and 
these kinds are also used by the crafts. Smiths 8 
require charcoal of fir rather than of oak: it is 
indeed not so strong, but it blows up better into 
a flame, as it is less apt to smoulder: and the flame 
from these woods is fiercer. In general the flame is 
fiercer not only from these but from any wood which 
is of open texture and light, or which is dry: while 
that from wood which is of close texture or green is 
more sluggish and dull. The fiercest flame of all 
is given by brushwood; but charcoal cannot be 
made from it at all, since it has not the necessary 
substance. 

They cut and require for the charcoal-heap straight 

5 of. §1 ad fin. 

8 ξηρότερον conj. W.; ξηρότερα UMV; πυκνότερα ξηρότερα 
Ald. I have bracketed τὸν. 


7 βελτίω conj. Sch.; βελτίων UM; βέλτιον Ald. H. 
er Gye Ate 1G. 29. 


46g 


THEOPHRASTUS 


᾽ ῇ \ \ a a \ ΄ , 
εὐθέα καὶ τὰ λεῖα" δεῖ γὰρ ws πυκνότατα συ! 
a \ \ 
θεῖναι πρὸς τὴν κατάπνιξιν. ὅταν δὲ περι. 
, AY 
αλείψωσι τὴν κάμινον, ἐξάπτουσι παρὰ μέρος 
4 > / > 
παρακεντοῦντες ὀβελίσκοις. εἰς μὲν τὴν avOpa- 
κιὰν τὰ τοιαῦτα ζητοῦσι. 
/ a / Ἁ \ 
Δύσκαπνα δὲ τῷ γένει μὲν ὅλως τὰ ὑγρά" καὶ 
\ \ \ la] / / \ be. 2 \ 
τὰ χλωρὰ διὰ τοῦτο δύσκαπνα. λέγω δὲ τὰ ὑγρὰ 
δ / 
Ta ἕλεια, οἷον πλάτανον ἰτέαν λεύκην αἴγειρον' 
> \ NCR? yoy “ ς \ fs ᾽ Ν 
ἐπεὶ καὶ ἡ ἄμπελος ὅτε ὑγρὰ δύσκαπνος. ἐκ δὲ 
lal >O7 ’ ¢ Lal A \ \ / / 
τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως ὁ φοῖνιξ, ὃν δὴ Kal μάλιστά 
ς / , er \ , 
tives ὑπειλήφασι δύσκαπνον" ὅθεν καὶ Χαιρήμωι' 
ἐποίησε “ τοῦ τε δυσκαπνοτώτου φοίνικος ἐκ γῆς 
, / » 4 ξ Ν 
ῥιζοφοιτήτους φλέβας." δριμύτατος δὲ ὁ καπνὸς 
συκῆς καὶ ἐρινεοῦ καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο ὀπῶδες" αἰτία 
/ “. \ 
δὲ ἡ ὑγρότης: φλοϊσθέντα δὲ καὶ ἀποβρεχθέντ 
© / \ \ a 
ἐν ὕδατι ἐπιρρύτῳ Kal μετὰ ταῦτα ξηρανθέντα 
> ’ , 
πάντων ἀκαπνότατα καὶ φλόγα μαλακωτάτην 
᾿ ὦ \ fol > [4 . “ 
ἀνίησιν, ἅτε καὶ τῆς οἰκείας ὑγρότητος ἐξηρημένης. 
A \ , A 
δριμεῖα δὲ καὶ ἡ τέφρα Kal ἡ κονία ἡ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν. 
/ id \ ᾽ \ “ ᾽ a 
μάλιστα δέ φασι THY ἀπὸ τῆς ἀμυγδαλῆς. 
\ \ \ , 
Πρὸς δὴ τὰς καμινίας καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τέχνας 
Ν. ” / b] 7 \ » 
ἄλλη ἄλλοις χρησίμη. ἐμπυρεύεσθαι δὲ ἄριστα 
“ an / id / ‘ 
συκῆ καὶ ἐλάα: συκῆ μέν, OTL γλίσχρον TE καὶ 
΄ “ τ. Ν > ’ > , , ¢ 
μανόν, ὥστε ἕλκει τε Kal ov δίεισιν: ἐλάα δέ, ὅτι 
ν / 
πυκνὸν καὶ λιπαρὸν. 





1 χεῖα conj. Scal. from G; νέα Ald. 

2 With sods. cf. Plin., 7.c., who seems to have had a fuller 
text. 

* An Athenian tragic poet. Scal. restores the quotation 


470 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1x. 4-6 


smooth ! billets: for they must be laid as close as 
possible for the smouldering process. When they 
have covered? the kiln, they kindle the heap by 
degrees, stirring it with poles. Such is the wood 
required for the charcoal-heap. 

In general damp wood makes an evil smoke, and 
for this reason green wood does so: I mean the 
damp woods which grow in marshy ground, such 
as plane willow abele black poplar: for even 
vine-wood, when it is damp, gives an evil smoke. 
So does palm-wood of its own nature, and some 
have supposed it to give the most evil smoke of all: 
whence Chaeremon? speaks of Veins issuing under- 
ground from roots of palm with its malodorous smoke.” 
Most pungent is the smoke of fig-wood, whether 
wild or cultivated, and of any tree which has a 
curdling juice; the reason lies in the sap; when 
such wood has been barked and soaked in running 
water and then dried, it gives as little smoke as 
any other, and sends up a very soft‘ flame, since 
its natural moisture also has been removed. The 
cinders and ashes of such wood are also pungent, 
and especially, they say, those of almond-wood. 

For the crafts requiring a furnace and for other 
crafts various woods are serviceable according to 
circumstances.> For kindling fig and olive are best: 
fig, because it is tough and of open texture, so that 
it easily catches fire and does not let it through,® 
olive, because it is of close texture and oily. 
thus: τοῦ τε δυσκαπνωτάτου | φοίνικος ἐκ γῆς ῥιζοφοιτήτους 
φλέβας (ῥιζοφιτύτους conj. Schneidewin). 

4 2,6. not sputtering. 

5 kat... χρησίμη conj. W.; τέχναις ἀλλήλοις χρησίμη U; 
τ. ἀλλήλας xp. MV; τέχνη ἄλλη ἐστι xp. P3 τ. ἀλλήλοις ἐστὶ 
χρησίμη Ald. δ ze. burn out quickly. 


471 


8 


THEOPHRASTUS 


Πυρεῖα δὲ γίνεται, μὲν ἐκ πολλῶν, ἄριστα δέ, 
ὥς φησι Μενέστωρ, ἐκ κιττοῦ" τάχιστα yap Kal 
πλεῖστον ἀναπνεῖ. πυρεῖον δέ φασιν ἄριστον 
μὲν ἐκ τῆς ἀθραγένης καλουμένης ὑπό τινων' 
τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶ δένδρον ὅ ὅμοιον. τῇ ἀμπέλῳ καὶ τῇ 
οἰνάνθῃ τῇ ἀγρίᾳ: ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνα καὶ τοῦτο ἀνα- 
βαίνει πρὸς τὰ δένδρα. δεῖ δὲ τὴν ἐσχάραν ἐκ 
τούτων ποιεῖν τὸ δὲ τρύπανον ἐκ δάφνης" οὐ γὰρ 
ἐκ ταὐτοῦ τὸ ποιοῦν καὶ πάσχον, ἀλλ᾽ ἕτερον 
εὐθὺ δεῖ κατὰ φύσιν, καὶ τὸ “μὲν δεῖ παθητικὸν 
εἶναι τὸ δὲ ποιητικόν. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ 
αὐτοῦ γίνεται καί, ὥς γέ τινες ὑπολαμβάνουσιν, 
οὐδὲν διαφέρει. γίνεται γὰρ ἐκ ῥάμνου καὶ 
πρίνου καὶ φιλύρας καὶ σχεδὸν ἐκ τῶν πλείστων 
πλὴν ἐλάας: ὃ καὶ δοκεῖ ἄτοπον εἶναι" καὶ γὰρ 
σκληρότερον καὶ λιπαρὸν ἡ ἐλάα' τοῦτο μὲν οὖν 
ἀσύμμετρον ἔχει δῆλον ὅτι τὴν ὑγρότητα πρὸς 
τὴν πύρωσιν. ἀγαθὰ δὲ τὰ ἐκ ῥάμνου" ποιεῖ δὲ 
τοῦτο καὶ τὴν ἐσχάραν χρηστήν' πρὸς γὰρ τῷ 
ξηρὰν καὶ ἄχυμον εἶναι δεῖ καὶ μανοτέραν, ἵν᾽ ἡ 
τρίψις ἰσχύῃ, τὸ δὲ τρύπανον ἀπαθέστερον' δι᾽ 
ὃ τὸ τῆς δάφνης ἄριστον" ἀπαθὲς γὰρ ὃν ἐργά- 
ζεται τῇ δριμύτητι. πάντα δὲ τὰ πυρεῖα βορείοις 
μὲν θᾶττον καὶ μᾶλλον ἐξάπτεται, νοτίοις δὲ 
ἧττον: καὶ ἐν μὲν τοῖς μετεώροις μᾶλλον, ἐν δὲ 
τοῖς κοίλοις ἧττον. 

᾿Ανίει δὲ τῶν ξύλων τὰ κέδρινα καὶ ἁπλῶς ὧι 


1 πο δὲ γίνεται μὲν conj. Sch.; π. μὲν γίνεται δὲ UMVAI. 

2 ef. W203 a: 

8 κιττοῦ conj. Bod. from de igne 64, Plin. 16. 208 ; καρύου Ald. 
4 πυρεῖον conj. Salm.; πυροὶ UMVAId. 


472 


ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. 1x. 6-8 


Fire-sticks are made! from many kinds of wood, 
but best, according to Menestor,? from ivy: for 
that flares up most quickly and freely. They 
say also that a very good fire-stick* is made of 
the wood which some call traveller’s joy; this is 
a tree like the vine or the ‘wild vine, which, 
like these, climbs up trees. The stationary piece > 
should be made of one of these, the drill of bay ; 
for the active and passive parts of the apparatus 
should not be of the same wood, but different in 
their natural properties to start with, one being 
of active, the other of passive character. Never- 
theless they are sometimes made of the same wood, 
and some suppose that it makes no difference. 
They are made in fact of buckthorn kermes- 
oak lime and almost any wood except olive; 
which seems surprising, as olive-wood is rather 
hard and oily; however it is plainly its moisture 
which makes it less suitable for kindling. The 
wood of the buckthorn is also good, and it makes 
a satisfactory stationary piece; for, besides being 
dry and free from sap it is necessary that this 
should also be of rather open texture, that the 
friction may be effectual; while the drill should 
be one which gets little worn by use. And that 
is why one made of bay is best; for, as it is not 
worn by use, it is effective through its biting 
quality. ΑἹ] fire-sticks take fire quicker and better 
in a north than in a south wind, and better in an 
exposed spot than in one which is shut in. 

Some woods, such as prickly cedar, exude® 
moisture, and, generally speaking, so do those 


* 2.6. the piece of wood to be bored. of. de igne, lc, 
ὃ ἀνίει. 1 ἀνιδίει. 


473 


THEOPHRASTUS 


y , φ φ / ’ A \ \ ’ ‘ , 
ἐλαιώδης ἡ ὑγρότης: δι’ ὃ καὶ τὰ ἀγάλματα 
, / la 
φασιν ἰδίειν éviote? ποιοῦσι yap ἐκ τούτων. ὃ 
al e / 
δὲ καλοῦσιν οἱ μάντεις Εἰλειθυίας ἄφεδρον, ὑπὲρ 
- ͵7 \ a If 
οὗ Kat ἐκθύονται, πρὸς τοῖς ἐλατίνοις γίνεται 
/ \ / a , ‘ 
συνισταμένης τινὸς ὑγρότητος, τῷ σχήματι μὲν 
/ / \ ς / ” x \ “ 
στρογγύλον μέγεθος δὲ ἡλίκον ἄπιον ἢ καὶ μικρῷ 
μεῖζον ἢ ἔλαττον. ἐκβλαστάνει δὲ μάλιστα τὰ 
“. ’ ’ , 
ἐλάϊνα Kal ἀργὰ κείμενα καὶ εἰργασμένα πολλά- 
/ 
Kis, ἐὰν ἰκμάδα λαμβάνῃ Kal ἔχῃ τόπον νοτερόν' 
Le ' \ na / \ 
ὥσπερ ἤδη TLS στροφεὺς τῆς θύρας ἐβλάστησε, καὶ 
’ , / lal 4 >’ / 
εἰς KUALKLOV πλίνθινον τεθεῖσα κώπη EV THY. 





lef. C.P. 5.4.4. οἱ μάντεις... ἐλατίνοις conj. Lobeck.: 
οἱ λεῖαν. .. τοῖς Exativois U; οἰλείαν. .. τοὺς ἐκματίνοις V; οἱ 
λεῖαν τῆς εἰληθήας... τοῖς ἐκματίνοις M ; of λεῖαν τῆς ἀληθυία: 
ἔφάιδρον... τοὺς ἑκατίνους Py; ἰλεῖαν τῆς εἰληθνίας ἔφυδρο»... 
τοὺς ἑκατίνους Ald. 


414 


ENQUIRY INTO) PLANTS, V. 1x.'8 


whose sap is of an oily character; and this is 
why statues are sometimes said to ‘sweat’; for 
they are made of such woods. That which seers 
call the menses of Kileithuia,’! and for the appearance 
of which they make atonement,? forms on the wood 
of the silver-fir when some moisture gathers on it: 
the formation is round * in shape, and in size about 
as large as a pear, or a little larger or smaller. 
Olive-wood is more apt than other woods to pro- 
duce shoots even when lying idle or made into 
manufactured articles ; this it often does, if it obtains 
moisture and lies in a damp place; thus the socket 
of a door-‘hinge’+ has been known to shoot, and 
also an oar which was standing in damp earth in an 
earthenware vessel.® 


2 


24.e.asa portent. cf. Char. 16. 2. 

3 στρόγγυλον conj. Sch.; στρογγύλης UMVP, Ald. 

5 675. 5. Ὁ. 45 Phin. 16. 230. 

5 πλινθ. τεθ. κώπη ἐν THAW CON}. Spr.; πλίνθινον τεθεὶς τῇ 
κώπῃ πηλός PoAld.H. 


475 









Lei a ὃ ee 


Se pm το το 


ior eta — — 


me een 


᾿ 7 As 
i 
_ a oe ων 
« 
7 ᾿ 
Tie i : 
ΤΙ _ Γ τι ww 
᾿ 


νυ 


+I Ai WBN gs 1 
: | tne Ak : 





ny bens 
ἐπ hc wih 











The Loeb Classical Library is the only existing 
series of books which, through original text 
and English translation, gives access to all that 
is important in Greek and Latin literature. A 
complete list of titles is available from Harvard 
University Press. 


LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY” is a registered trademark 
of the President and Fellows of Harvard College. 





* 
᾿ 
—. Ὁ 


Other writers about plants 


in the Loeb Classical Library 


COLUMELLA 
CATO AND VARRO 
PLINY 





ISBN O-674-959077-3 
{Π|{{{|||||||}{{||| .9.9000 
Ἰ 1} VG Ah TATA 
a | ] || ΝΗ ] I | | ] 

| iI | 1 | ᾿ | ] 
WANA AW PR Ht 1] 
HY | 1\\ ] HL a Hl HH